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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26495842">Seven Days</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWithTheLamp2017/pseuds/LadyWithTheLamp2017'>LadyWithTheLamp2017</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Adam Driver - Fandom, While We're Young (2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drinking, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Recreational Drug Use</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:13:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,963</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26495842</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyWithTheLamp2017/pseuds/LadyWithTheLamp2017</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A popular author of a best selling fantasy series gets more than she bargained for when her sexy antagonist goes on strike to teach her a thing or two about love and redemption.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jamie Massey/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I laughed flirtatiously as I walked up and down my elegant Buckhead apartment, phone to my ear. I paused and looked down at the heavy traffic on Peachtree Road near Lennox Square, thanking God I wasn't down there in that mess.</p><p>"Matty boy," I crooned to my panicking editor, Matthew Simmons, "I know the deadline's in seven days! You don't have to lecture me!"</p><p>"Thea, it's just that in the past you've had these things tied up before now," Matt said and I could hear the strain in his voice. He was probably pinching the bridge of his nose right about now. "What's the holdup all of a sudden?"</p><p>I glanced over at the screen of my laptop and bit my lip. "I dunno, Matt," I said, serious for the first time since we had begun talking. The cursor sat blinking patiently at me in the middle of a paragraph. "This one is...different."</p><p>I felt a tickle at the back of my neck, and I shivered. What the hell? It was July in the city that was nicknamed "Hotlanta" for a very good reason and I was nowhere near an AC vent...weird. I brushed a hand across a hardback copy of my latest book, Curse of the Ember Moon, with my name, T.C. Brannigan.  emblazoned proud and bold across the top. On the cover, a slim, beautiful red-haired girl is crossing staffs with with a tall, broad shoulder, raven-haired man on a mist-shrouded cliff, the two locked in immortal combat. Their hair and clothes look as if they are blown by a gust of wind and the red moon is half hidden behind silvery clouds. </p><p>The book had debuted on Halloween and I had done a book signing that  night. Tweens and teenagers had lined the sidewalk outside The Poisoned Pen bookstore dressed in costumes that roughly resembled a myriad of my book's various characters.</p><p>"Well," Matt was saying. "I don't know much about the fantasy genre, Thea. All I know is you better get that manuscript to me and fast." He paused. "Why don't you just have her chop off his head?"</p><p>I made a disgruntled noise. "She did that in book three...you know I never use the same method twice."</p><p>Matt was quiet for a long time. Then he said, "Have you ever thought about...I don't know...maybe as this is your last book in the series, you could redeem him? Let him live?"</p><p>I threw my glasses off and tossed them on the desk. "No," I said a bit shortly. "Absolutely not. That's not what this is, Matt! Lucas has to die. It's the formula for every novel and Serra has to kill him. This time for good."</p><p>Matt sighed. "I'm just thinking about all those fan letters you got last year..."</p><p>"Hormonal fucking teenagers who love a toxic romance!" I cried.</p><p>"Yeah but these 'hormonal fucking teenagers' are the ones eating up your books like candy, baby," Matt sighed. "They love toxic. You should read some of the fanfics they send us. Whew! That's some hot shit. Plus, you have only yourself to blame."</p><p>I cocked my head to the side. "How's that, Matt?" I asked.</p><p> "Well, you're the one who made him so sexually appealing in the first place!"</p><p>"Well I'm not writing fucking Twilight, Matt," I yelled, completely losing it. "I'm writing a strong female protagonist who..." I had been about to say "doesn't need a man" but then I thought that might be a bit rude to Matt. He really was a sweetheart. Most of the time. "Look it's about resisting the irresistible. It's about finding your strength on your own, without a...a...damn romantic entanglement to screw things up!"</p><p>Damn!" Matt swore. "Some guy really steamrolled your heart, huh?"</p><p>I opened my mouth and nothing but stunned silence came out. I could hear Matt fucking sputtering with barely controlled laughter on the other end at my obvious indignation. I held up a finger as if bringing home a point, even though the bastard couldn't see me. </p><p>"So, I'm gonna let that one go, Matt," I stated calmly, my accent suddenly bursting through the door of my restraint to say What up, mother fuckers?  "....because I know you're a Yankee and ya'll all have your own special brand of humor up there." My finger was making squiggles in the air. "But for the record let me just say that I found that comment extremely distasteful."</p><p>Matt was crying he was laughing so hard, I could hear him.</p><p>"This isn't helpful, Matt," I said crossly.</p><p>Matt sobered. "Shoot him, then! Goddamn, cut out his heart, Thea! Just fucking kill him already and sent me that manuscript! And don't forget the conference this weekend in New York. They want to see you in person." Matt  ended the call before I could respond.</p><p>I held my phone out and stared at it, shaking my head. So rude. I pocketed my phone and realized I was starving. Breakfast had been black coffee and a cigarette on the balcony breathing in the glorious fumes of morning commuters and Delta airliners heading for Hartsfield-Jackson International. My belly rumbled. I headed to the kitchen.</p><p>A rustling sound behind me stopped me in my tracks. I spun around. It was coming from the direction of my office. I stepped back into the spacious, quiet room and looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary. That tickle at the back of my neck again though. I had a paralyzing fear of mice, although the super assured me this building had never had a pest problem. Still.</p><p>I turned to leave when I felt a rush of cold air kiss the back of my neck again. I gasped, slapping my hand to my nape and turning around. My eyes darted frantically about the room. More rustling. Suddenly the books on my shelf, past novels from the series I was working on, began shaking, then falling to the ground one by one. I gasped and slowly began walking toward the bookshelf until some of the books nearly hit me in head as they flew off the shelf. I cried out and backed away, arms up shielding myself as book after book came hurtling at me as if being thrown by an invisible person. Pens rattled in their holders, then they too came flying out at me like missiles. My laptop wobbled and crashed to the floor, the mouse quickly following. </p><p>"Jesus!" I yelled, crouching down</p><p>A few books resting on the floor at my feet slammed open, pages turning rapidly, rustling as if a wind were caught inside the small space of my office. Whatever it was had the force to knock back on my ass and I scrambled in fear and confusion backwards towards the wall, my terrified eyes still on my books which continued to rain down and fly across the room at random. I tried making it to the door, but it slammed shut with a loud bang that sounded like gunfire sending my heart jumping into my throat. I tried the knob desperately, casting glances over my shoulder at the chaos behind me. </p><p>"No!" I cried when the knob wouldn't budge. I shook it and started banging on the door with both hands. "Help! Somebody, please!" </p><p>I sank down to the floor and threw my arms up over my head in an attempt to shield myself from further projectiles and then, as suddenly as it had started it stopped and there was dead silence. But I had the distinct impression I was no longer alone in the room. I slowly lowered my arms and lifted my wide-eyed gaze, gasping.</p><p>In the midst of the wreckage of books, papers, and office supplies stood a tall, broad figure clad in black. He towered over me, arms crossed, legs akimbo, and I could clearly see his facial features...shoulder length hair, black as a raven's wing, eyes the color of twelve-year-old scotch, strong jaw, lips that...</p><p>Well, they were usually soft and pouty when I wrote them but now they were decidedly set in a firm unhappy line.</p><p>It was him. My sexy, evil antagonist, Lucas.</p><p>I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them wide again. Every detail was exact...from the knee high black boots to the collar of his black overcoat. Even...I gulped...that fucking weapons belt slung around his hips and full to the brim with the implements of death I had invented for him. Great. Just great. I was either hallucinating big time or some really demented cosplayer had just broken into my home.</p><p>My mouth went dry as I tried to work out in my mind what the fuck was happening even as this...person, this creation of mine slowly came towards me. The sound of his boots reverberated along the wooden floor of my office, ominous and terrifying. Panic had swollen my tongue and I started babbling and trying to scramble backward into the wall.</p><p>"No! No, no, no....stay away from me! I'll scream!"</p><p>"Wouldn't do you much good."</p><p>He crouched down to my level, his sinful amber eyes travelling slowly, insolently down my body and back up as if taking my measure. And he didn't seem all that impressed.</p><p>"I swear to God, if you touch me...if you so much as..."</p><p>"Thea Corrine Brannigan?" he asked in the velvety voice I had created for him, ignoring my pleas. "T.C.?"</p><p>I gulped and wished the wall would swallow me up. At my jerky nod, his lips twisted as if he was disappointed. His gaze swept the floor around us then met mine again.</p><p>"Look, uh, sorry about the mess. But," he continued matter-of-factly. "Sometimes my temper gets the better of me." He looked at me and a small smile made dimples appear in his cheeks. "But you already know that, don't you? I think it's time you and I had a talk...about the shitty endings to these books of yours. And what we might do differently this time."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. I Need A Drink</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I need a drink."</p><p>I blinked in surprise that those were the first words to come out of my mouth since this audacious apparition had made his declaration about my "shitty" books. No, scratch that. The "shitty endings" to my books. He stood up and offered me a hand.</p><p>He was courteous for a villain, I'd give him that. I stared up at him for what seemed like an eternity before slowly, tentatively placing my hand in his. I gasped as warm, strong fingers closed over mine and he hauled me to my feet.</p><p>I stood inches from him and the first thing that struck me was how corporeal he was. I could sense the heat of his body, his solid muscles, and the intoxicating scent of him. My eyes were at a level with his chest and I slowly raised them to find him studying me closely. Calculating. I shivered and pulled my hand from his. With small steps, never once taking my eyes from him, I moved towards the door of the office and reached behind me for the knob.</p><p>I nearly laughed with relief when it turned.</p><p>He had tracked me with his gaze the entire time, his lips turned up at the corners slightly in an amused smile. He began moving towards me and I put up a hand.</p><p>"Stay where you are." I reached behind me, sliding my hand into the empty back pocket of my jeans. "I have a gun."</p><p>The smile grew and his dimples pressed in, making him even more sexually appealing. God damn Matt had been right. Why did I have to make him look so uncannily like...?</p><p>He did, however, stop moving and crossed his arms, looking at me as if I was a strange creature he didn't quite understand.</p><p>"If I wanted to harm you, Thea, I would have already done it. There's nothing stopping me from doing it now. You might say I have a perfect right to after all the shit you've done to me in the past. But I didn't come here for that. And unless it's invisible there's no gun in your back pocket. Even if there was, it wouldn't do you any good."</p><p>My mouth fell open and I pointed at him accusingly. "What...how..."</p><p>His insolent gaze travelled down me and then back up again. "Look, Thea, this is ridiculous. I came here to talk some sense into you. If you would just..."</p><p>The doorbell suddenly rang, cutting him off. My eyes widened and I dashed off as quick as lightening to greet my savior. I reached the door, flung it open and saw my friend and neighbor, Danielle who always called when I was finishing up a new book.</p><p>"Hey girl!" she greeted me with a big grin and outstretched arms.</p><p>I started to speak when she engulfed me in an embrace that took my breath away. Danielle did nothing by half. I quickly pulled away.</p><p>"Danielle, I need you to..."</p><p>"Girl I love what you've done with the place!" she exclaimed, strolling past me and twirling around my living room. "White leather couches...sexy! And that coffee table! Didn't I tell you Benton Glaser was a genius? This is so chic!"</p><p>As she talked, I couldn't help but notice that Lucas had followed me and made himself comfortable on the said white leather couch, arms spread out across the back, legs crossed as if he owned the place. And Danielle, apparently couldn't see him. Because if anyone would notice a long, tall drink of water that looked like sex personified lounging on my couch it would be man eater and renowned Atlanta playwright, Danielle Givens. With her coffee colored skin, jet black corkscrew curls and seductive dark eyes with their catlike slant at the outer corners, Danielle was a vision. She broke more hearts than I had ever been able to call my own, and she loved it.</p><p>"Danielle," I said pointing a shaky finger to the couch. "You don't see anything...out of place?"</p><p>She turned and looked right at Lucas then back to me. "Honey are you alright?"</p><p>I took a shuddering breath. "I mean on the couch? You don't see him?"</p><p>Danielle looked again and then turned back to me with a grin. "What, you got a sexy ghost or something? Thought you told me you had this building vetted for that when you moved in." Danielle's eyes were sparkling mischievously.</p><p>I closed my eyes and shook my head, ignoring Danielle's dig at my belief in the shamans and spiritual cleansing. "Never mind then. I guess I really am going nuts," I murmured. I crossed to the small bar. "Wanna drink?"</p><p>"This early?" Danielle's voice sounded behind me.</p><p>With shaking fingers, I poured myself two fingers of scotch and took a good long sip before feeling fortified enough to turn around and face...I nearly spit out that elixir of heaven. Danielle was taking a seat right on Lucas' lap.</p><p>"Danielle, no, no...!"</p><p>She frowned at me. "What the fuck is up with you today, Thea? You been doing drugs again?"</p><p>I put a hand to my forehead and tried to ignore the cheeky grin Lucas gave me. "No! I just...uh..." I gestured to the couch. "You don't...? Argh...never mind!"</p><p>Danielle sat forward, looking more and more perplexed. I watched, aghast, as Lucas placed his hands on her hips and slowly, deliberately ran them up her sides seductively. Ignoring me, he let his gaze travel up and down her shapely form, tilting his head to get a better look at her ass which, to my eyes, was snuggling cozily into the apex of his massive thighs. I let out a squeak.</p><p>Danielle, oblivious to the audacious apparition, immediately rose and came over to me, a concerned look on her face. "Listen, honey," she said taking the glass from me. "I think I'll take a raincheck on that drink." She set the glass down on the bar and took both my hands. "You look tired. The reason for my visit was to invite you to my house party. You need to get out. You've been cooped up in here these last few months working on that book..." She held up a hand as I opened my mouth to protest. "...which I know is important. But you need to let your hair down! Figuratively."</p><p>She reached out and gave my long, straight auburn hair a playful tug.</p><p>"I'd really love to, Danielle, but..."</p><p>"Elton John and his husband will be there," she said enticingly with a waggle of her perfectly sculpted brows.</p><p>Damn her. She knew how big a fan I was. But I shook my head. "I have a deadline in seven days. And a writer's conference this weekend. I just don't have any spare time right now. I wish."</p><p>Danielle looked unconvinced. She pouted her lips, but I could see a growing concern in her warm gaze. She reached out and rubbed my arm. "Ok, girl, but you take a vacay after this thing is finished. I'm worried about you."</p><p>After she had left, I turned slowly to face my new reality. Larger than life, six foot three and still lounging on my couch, the evil but (yes, I'll admit it) sexy as fuck villain from my best-selling Embers series.</p><p>I sighed. Ok, then it must be a hallucination from all that wacky shit I'd smoked back in the day with Jamie Massey. God damn I hadn't thought of him in years. And now, here I was twice in one day! I stared at the intimidating but silent figure who stared back as if patiently waiting for me to...what? Do something apparently.</p><p>I cleared my throat and I went to retrieve my drink. "So. Lucas Bain." I strolled to the sofa opposite him and sat down, took a fortifying sip, and already felt the drink loosening me up.</p><p>He raised his eyebrows. "You ready to talk now?"</p><p>I raised my glass in a gesture of surrender and gave him a mad grin. "I guess I have no choice, do I?"</p><p>He returned my grin. "Not really."</p><p>I saluted him with dregs of my scotch. "Go on then. Let's get this over with. I'm very busy. I'm on a deadline...one that has very much to do with your fate."</p><p>His face hardened. "That's what we need to talk about, Thea. Your blood lust for me stops today. We're going to figure out a way to end this story to mine and Serra's satisfaction."</p><p>I nearly choked. "Serra!" I exclaimed. "No, no, no...you mean your satisfaction. We all know your lust for Serra is second only to your lust for power! Serra hates you. She's made it her life...her many lives'...goal to destroy you and save the world from..."</p><p>"Actually, that's not true. Serra and I are in love. The whole world knows it. Well, except for you." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "And if you can't see the very subplot that you yourself have created, then I guess you'll just have to miss your precious deadline. And there will be no seventh book until you do."</p><p>"Excuse me, who is writing this series?" I asked rhetorically.</p><p>I stared at him and he stared back, no quarter or compromise in his gaze. One of his hands moved from the back of the couch and came down to rest near his hip. As it so, his black overcoat parted and revealed just a few reasons I might want to take this man seriously. Honestly I must have been an idiot to arm him so well. It was then that I knew I had a very big problem on my hands.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. History 101</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I grew up in the middle class suburb of Brookhaven, only a ten minute MARTA train ride from the luxurious Park Place condo where I now shared space with Elton John, Danielle Givens, a myriad of politicians' mistresses, and a few infamous rappers. When we used to drive this area of town on our way to Piedmont Hospital to visit my grandmother who was dying of lung cancer, I used to gaze up at the beautiful gothic architecture of the million dollar condos and dream of living up there, thirty-five stories above Peachtree Street.</p>
<p>"That's where the rich people live," my dad would say gleefully, not really caring that we weren't one of "them". It was just a matter of fact.</p>
<p>When I graduated high school, I applied to UGA in Athens and was accepted into the bachelor's English program, but my scholarship ran out before I graduated, and I was flat broke. I was nineteen years old, in debt, and no degree to show for it.</p>
<p>"I just don't understand why you can't get married like I did," my sweet but naïve mother would say.</p>
<p>My best friend at the time, Lee Newman, got the crazy idea to hitchhike to Philadelphia where her ex-boyfriend lived and said we could come stay with him. I wasn't as eager to shake the dust of Georgia off my cork wedges, but I shrugged. It would be an adventure.</p>
<p>"They have schools up there," she said. "Your credits from UGA will follow you and you can get your degree."</p>
<p>She made it sound so simple. During this down time, I began writing. I never kept a diary, but I had notebooks crammed full of my stories, from romance to adventure to sci-fi. In the backseat of stranger's cars, while Lee flirted up front, I would lose myself in a world of my own making.</p>
<p>It was while in Philly that I met Jamie Massey. Originally from Brooklyn, he was in town working on a documentary and Lee's ex, Skip, was apparently into lighting and cinematography. At any rate, he was assisting Jamie with his movie. It was a cold, rainy night when the two of them came laughing and stumbling drunk into Skip's tiny apartment while Lee and I were curled up on the couch eating Cheetos and Haagen Dazs rum raisin and watching Snapped.</p>
<p>"Jamie, this is Lee, my on-again-off-again," Skip said with a cheeky bob of his eyebrows to Jamie. "And this is her friend, Dora...no, Tessa...um...Anna? Ah, shit..."</p>
<p>"Thea," I supplied, with a glance at Skip's friend. I did a double take.</p>
<p>What struck me first about Jamie was his height. He looked like wet tree standing there beside the couch and his delighted smile when Skip introduced me, or tried to, lit up the room. What I could see of his dark hair escaping from underneath his beanie, was plastered with rainwater to his forehead and neck. He extended a hand in my direction, large and long fingered. I noticed he had several tattoos on both arms and when he took my hand his grip was warm and strong.</p>
<p>"Hi, Theodosia," he greeted me, his voice deep and steady, not sounding drunk at all even though he had a definitely reek of alcohol...and something else suspiciously herbal...about him.</p>
<p>"Um, it's Thea," I said in a daze as my hand was swallowed up in Jamie's enormous one.</p>
<p>Jamie held my hand a moment longer than necessary, his dark eyes probing. "But that's just a diminutive."</p>
<p>It was a statement, not a question. Not realizing my name was up for debate, I simply smiled at him and huffed in uncomfortable amusement. He seemed arrogant. Arrogant but charming. And I wasn't used to male attention. At least not male attention this intense. I broke eye contact with him.</p>
<p>"I guess," I replied meekly.</p>
<p>He and Skip began talking, then the talk turned into some kind of debate about filmmaking I couldn't hope to keep up with and I turned back to one of my notebooks. I wasn't really interested in the show; that was Lee's. Until she was distracted by Skip's incessant horniness. As they made their inevitable way back to the bedroom, Jamie took Lee's place next to me on the couch. Studiously ignoring Lee and Skip's antics, I did the same with Jamie but with greater difficulty as he kept trying to engage me in conversation.</p>
<p>I finally relented and he steered the conversation towards movies and music. Over the backdrop of a woman's ominous voice telling the story of a grisly murder, I told Jamie I loved old movies best.</p>
<p>"No shit," he murmured, giving an almost calculating look. "Which ones?"</p>
<p>This opened up a whole discussion about Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and Rear Window.</p>
<p>"Honestly, I really love the Man With the Golden Arm. It's so underrated but I think Sinatra gave the performance of his life in that."</p>
<p>Jamie rested his head against the back of the couch and stared at me. "Same," he drawled, and I wondered if he was high. "That scene where he withdraws from the heroin...so fucking powerful."</p>
<p>"I know! Did you know Sinatra actually went to a mental hospital and got to see that firsthand? To prepare for his role." I was shaking my head. "I can't imagine."</p>
<p>"What about Road House? Not the Patrick Swayze one...the Richard Widmark one. The old one?"</p>
<p>I gasped. "You know that!"</p>
<p>Jamie narrowed his eyes as if in thought. "Who was the woman in that, do you remember?"</p>
<p>I bit my lip and noticed Jamie's subtle gaze on me. "Yeah, the lounge singer...she made the bikini out of her scarf."</p>
<p>"Loved that part," Jamie remarked lazily his eyes drifting down my front.</p>
<p>"Her voice was awful though. So rough."</p>
<p>"That's what made it great."</p>
<p>We stared at each other for several seconds then shouted out together, "Ida Lupino!"</p>
<p>I started laughing and clapped my hands together. "Oh my God! I haven't seen that movie in ages!"</p>
<p>Jamie started laughing and drew back in exaggerated shock. "Ages? You're like sixteen!"</p>
<p>I drew myself up. "I'm nineteen, thanks."</p>
<p>His smiled broadened and he started laughing. Soon I was joining in. I didn't realize until later that was his subtle way of discovering my age. So, it began with us.</p>
<p>For reasons unknown to me, Jamie Massey was worming his way into my affections. I didn't have that much experience with the opposite sex, so the attention was both flattering and overwhelming. I didn't consider myself attractive although other people said I had an "interesting" face. I was five feet four inches to Jamie's towering six feet two. My unstyled hair was long and straight, an undecided dark brown with a reddish tint. I never wore makeup, so my freckles were constantly on display and my eyes were a colorless grey. Unremarkable in every way.</p>
<p>But for some reason, Jamie liked spending time with me. Our conversations were varied and encompassing. He introduced me to obscure movies, I introduced him to my favorite Atlanta rappers. He told me about the project he and Skip were working on and that he expected to be in Philly another two weeks. I never saw him during the day but at night when they would wrap up filming, he'd be there, next to me on the couch, his body turned towards me no matter what else was going on in the room, elbow propped on the sofa back listening intently to whatever I had to say. As if he was taking notes. I never flattered myself he was actually interested. I did wonder why a young, single, fairly attractive guy like him wasn't out with some even more attractive and vastly more interesting girl. He was impulsive, doing things on the fly with no planning or forethought. Once he procured a bicycle for me and we cycled for hours, even crossing the Ben Franklin bridge to my great terror. Jamie laughed at my overly cautious nature. I was always painstakingly careful with a given agenda. Except when it came to Jamie and this whirlwind happening between us.</p>
<p>I was so taken in and disarmed by his smile, his intelligence, and our shared love for the same music and movies. In less than week we had inside jokes with each other. He was the first to ever lay a joint on me and I listened to his musings as the pungent smoke curled up gracefully between us and we passed it back and forth. Never had I developed a rapport so quickly and easily with someone. I was painfully shy and awkward but that all seemed to melt away when Jamie was around. One night, Lee and Skip went out clubbing to celebrate completing the film.</p>
<p>"Aren't you going?" I asked Jamie, closing my notebook. I was working on a new story...and the protagonist was tall, dark-haired, and had a deliciously disarming smile. I grinned at Jamie thinking of what I had just written.</p>
<p>"Nope," he replied. "I have plans."</p>
<p>My heart sunk a little. "Oh?"</p>
<p>He held up a double VHS case. "Movie night."</p>
<p>My mouth fell open. "Dr. Zhivago? Are you fucking kidding me...that's like four hours long!"</p>
<p>"It's iconic. Best movie to watch on a cold night."</p>
<p>I laughed. "Yeah because all that snow and ice just makes you feel warmer!"</p>
<p>We popped corn the old-fashioned way over the stove, drizzled melted butter over it and settled side by side on the couch as the overture began. Propping our feet on the coffee table, the popcorn bowl between us we watched the story of the tragic poet and his love for the tormented Lara unfold. Two hours in, the popcorn bowl empty, we had moved subtly closer to each other. Soon my head was resting on Jamie's shoulder and our hands were touching.</p>
<p>It was inevitable what happened next. One minute as the movie ended, we were discussing the Russian Revolution as possibly the most convulsive event of the twentieth century and the clash between man and the state, the next he had reached for me and was pulling me to him, kissing me. I was shocked and excited. I didn't know what to do with my tongue, but Jamie was a pretty good teacher. He made an awkward virgin feel like a sex goddess. Nothing I did was wrong.</p>
<p>Soon I was lying back on the couch, Jamie looming over me. My clothes were disappearing at an alarming rate and I thought about mentioning my inexperience to him, but it seemed like a moot point now. Whatever I didn't know, Jamie would show me. I tried to remember all the things Lee and other girls who had done this had told me about the first time. But coherent thought was impossible when Jamie was kissing my bare skin, licking me like I was the most delicious thing he'd tasted in forever.</p>
<p>I wanted it. I did. But it was moving so fast and as I watched Jamie preparing to finish my education, it was all too heady. I responded to his silent commands and braced myself.</p>
<p>Ok, it was painful. Not as horrible as I had been led to believe, but enough to make me hiss and grab onto him for dear life. I tried valiantly not to cry. Buried somewhere underneath all that pain, however, was a tantalizing promise of pleasure if I could just unearth it. I clung to Jamie and concentrated on chasing that feeling. And then it was like an atomic bomb going off inside me. I made noises I never thought possible and didn't even think about being embarrassed.</p>
<p>Afterwards, curled on the couch under a scratchy wool blanket listening to The Smiths, Jamie stroked my naked back while I nestled into the crook of his arm, praying he'd stay the night.</p>
<p>"You ok?" he asked.</p>
<p>I just nodded silently. I had no words.</p>
<p>"You should have told me."</p>
<p>Told him? Oh. That I was a virgin. I shrugged sleepily. I didn't think it would have mattered to him. Apparently. I was wrong. I closed my eyes.</p>
<p>"S'okay," I murmured sleepily. "It was nice."</p>
<p>When he had to go back to Brooklyn, I batted my eyelashes and playfully suggested I might come up to see him. A shadow crossed his face but was gone so quickly I might have imagined it. Then he gave me his best disarming smile.</p>
<p>"Do that," he said, stroking my cheek with his thumb. Then he leaned down and kissed me with his plush lips.</p>
<p>He was gone the next day. But I was far from sad, because in a week Lee, Skip, and I were going to New York where Skip had a new job. We were going to meet Jamie that weekend for drinks in the guys' favorite haunt in Bushwick. That night I dressed carefully, applying dark eye makeup that accentuated my light gray eyes and slipping into a slinky black dress with a halter top. I looked at least twenty-five, I thought.</p>
<p>As we made our way down the crowded, boisterous street to where a deep bass was reverberating from inside a trendy-looking club, I couldn't help the shiver of excitement that slithered down my back. We pushed through the crowd and into the club, among writhing bodies and colored strobe lights.</p>
<p>Skip and Lee immediately began dancing crazily, bumping and grinding. I heard a familiar voice at my back.</p>
<p>"Theodosia! Holy shit!"</p>
<p>I turned with a huge grin on my face and saw Jamie standing there with a gorgeous blonde clinging to his arm. She looked me up and down, her expression going from disdainful to pitying. Oh, shit...</p>
<p>"Jamie..." I stuttered, my voice wobbling a little.</p>
<p>He looked like a deer in the headlights. The woman wrapped around him like a graceful vine had no trouble finding her words, however.</p>
<p>"Oh, hi!" she said with a bright white smile. "You must be Jamie's little muse from...what was it...?" She looked questioningly at Jamie. "Tennessee? Florida?"</p>
<p>I cleared my throat. "Georgia," I said, my voice sounding rough.</p>
<p>"That's right! A Georgia peach. How cute." Her eyes swept my dress. "I'm Casey, Jamie's girlfriend."</p>
<p>My stomach plummeted to the ground. I couldn't look at Jamie or her. I swallowed hard as I felt bile creeping up my throat. I took a step back and then I was dashing for the door, pushing and shoving my way through the dancers and out onto the sidewalk.</p>
<p>Where I promptly vomited into the street to the loud whoops and catcalls of several half-drunk revelers. I sank to my knees and never longed so much for my boring middle class Brookhaven neighborhood that I wished I'd never left.</p>
<p>                                                                                                      ***</p>
<p>Two years later I made my first million by cutting out Jamie's heart and hoisting it high above my head in triumph. Only now our names were Lucas and Serra.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Author's note: Huge thanks to my girl, Jackie (jackieblu13) for suggesting Jamie Massey as my next AD character fic. He's is proving to be more fun to write than he has right to be, the snake!</b>
</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Look What You Made Me Do</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ok, then. So, I made my millions killing my...whatever Jamie was to me all those years ago...over and over. I mean there was some method to my madness. I researched all the myths I could find about reincarnation and life cycles and created Lucas and Serra, Nephilim. One blessed, one fallen. One good, one bad. It was simple plot, as old as time but it sold like crack. I got paid to do what I loved. When I was drinking or smoking the occasional joint, I would laugh about how ridiculously fun and easy it all was.</p><p>Except now, it looked as if my best character, albeit the one born from the asshole who broke my heart, was holding me and my next potential bestseller, hostage. We stared a silent standoff, his coat gaping to display all his weaponry. The deadly shit I had given him. Now seemingly the worst decision of my life apart from having sex with Jamie.</p><p>"Are you threatening me?" I asked incredulously. </p><p>Lucas made a very familiar sweeping gesture with his hand. "No one's threatening anyone, Thea. I'm just showing you that I have them, as tools." </p><p>I huffed. "So, then the answer's yes. You are threatening me."</p><p>Lucas pointed at me. "Those are your words, not mine." He uncrossed his legs. "Look, Thea, I want to have peace talks. Resorting to violence is the last thing I want to do."</p><p>But my eyes weren't on him. They were on that damned modified Sig with the ostentatious nine inch barrel and loaded with 40 calibers that contained an ungodly amount of metal beyond what would have been legal in the real world, the black leather pouch I knew contained a lethal length of steel -like catgut, perfect for strangling and decapitating, the charmed and deadly Katar in it's tooled leather sheath, and two double-bladed athames, one silver, one iron. I could hardly believe my diabolical mind had armed him so well. But then again, my diabolical mind had also armed Serra equally well and Lucas always got his comeuppance.</p><p>Except that I wasn't Serra and I was decidedly unarmed.</p><p>"Really? Resorting to violence is the last thing you want to do?" I asked sarcastically. "Tell that to the citizens of Renteria."</p><p>Lucas tossed his head in annoyance. "Oh, that only happened because..."</p><p>"It happened because you are exactly as I wrote you! A villain! A bloodthirsty villain crazed with a hunger to control and manipulate a woman who is ten times cleverer than you and way more powerful than you will ever be!" As I said this I got up and paced to the bar then back again, stopping in the middle of the room and glaring at him. "And that just fucking galls you, Lucas!" I spat vitriolically.</p><p>He tracked me the entire time with his eyes and seemed eerily calm. </p><p>I threw my hands up. "And this...this thing about you and Serra being in love!" I laughed. "What? Do the two of you go on vacation to Shangri La between novels or something?" I asked sarcastically. </p><p>"Or something," Lucas replied vaguely, his eye twitching in anger.</p><p>Oh. That too, huh? I crossed my arms and tossed a strand of hair out of my face with a jerk of my head. My brows drew together as I stared at him. Was it possible? Was there an alternate universe inside a universe where characters live after one novel ends and before the next one begins? I pictured Serra, her long red hair hanging glorious down her back, long slim arms entwined around an Adonis of a man, her fingers threading through his silky raven hair. She's smiling into his eyes and he's looking at her like she's his entire world. Then just as they're about to kiss...</p><p>"No!" I cried, shaking my head. "That's absurd...it's ridiculous!</p><p>He continued, "I'll be happy to explain it all to you if you'd just sit down and shut up for a second."</p><p>My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped. "Well if your explanation is as rude as your manners I don't think I care to..."</p><p>"You leave me no choice..."</p><p>Suddenly I was hoisted up and carried as if I weighed no more than a rag doll to my office. There Lucas plopped me none too gently into my chair facing the disheveled desk, ignoring my outraged shouts and struggles which were futile against this supernatural tower of strength. I cursed myself for the fiftieth time for making him so formidable. My eyes widened at the sight of the catgut in his hand.</p><p>No, no!" I cried. "I'll listen..." I held up my hands in surrender. "I'll listen."</p><p>Lucas looked at me darkly. "Are you even capable?"</p><p>"Yes," I answered in a sharp staccato.</p><p>Lucas stared at me for another second then slowly replaced the catgut in a pocket of his overcoat. He crouched down before me and looked up into my eyes beseechingly. When he spoke the softness in his voice startled me.</p><p>"Thea, I think you've always known, deep down, that Serra and I were meant to be together but something..." He frowned at me, perplexed as if trying to divine an ancient riddle. "...something inside you just won't allow that to happen because you don't believe in happy endings."</p><p>I scoffed and Lucas's expression darkened even more.</p><p>"You said you'd listen."</p><p>I put up my hands again and assumed an bland innocent expression. "Oh, I'm all ears," I whispered.</p><p>"Good. Because this is what's going to happen. Until you follow that subplot and bring this story full circle, this book doesn't happen. You miss your deadline, you lose your advance, and..." He took an exaggerated look around my beautiful office. "...if you can't produce, possibly this lovely place you call home. But you came from nothing...shouldn't be hard going back to it."</p><p>My mouth dropped in astonishment. "You can't do that!"</p><p>"Oh, yes I can," he contradicted. "And you gave me all the tools to enable me to do it."</p><p>My eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare..."</p><p>He grinned at me and my heart nearly stopped. Quick as a flash he was up and rolling my chair up to the desk. My head jerked and my teeth clashed together when he brought me to an abrupt halt. He grabbed my left hand, straightening the fingers and spreading them out on the surface of the desk where my laptop once sat. Then before I knew it, the damned catgut was in his hand and he was twisting it round my forefinger, then pulling it tight. One good tug and my finger would be history, sliced cleanly off. </p><p>"What the fuck...!" I screamed. "No, no...don't, please don't! There's no need...!"</p><p>How the fuck did the creature know I was left handed? I squeezed my eyes shut, hating the tears that came to them, more from fear than pain. What the fuck had I done to deserve this?</p><p>Lucas' voice penetrated my panic. "You won't listen to reason, Thea, and now I have no choice. You have forced me to resort to a method I hate to use but I need you to know I'm serious about this. You need to understand. And you need to acknowledge your mistakes and fix them."</p><p>I lifted blurred eyes to his in astonishment. "My...my mistakes?" I cried. "You're a fucking lunatic!"</p><p>The catgut tightened and I could actually feel it beginning to slice through my skin. I screamed.</p><p>"Fuck! No!" I shouted. "Ok, ok, ok..." I panted.</p><p>Lucas loosened it up just a bit and stared at me, his expression cold and unfeeling. Just like he was when he committed murder in my books. </p><p>"Ok?" he asked, peering down into my eyes. "Ok, what?"</p><p>It was at that moment I knew I would never do well under torture. Look at how I was cracking now and he hadn't even really begun to hurt me. Not yet. I looked down at my captive hand, the spread fingers, the one that was rapidly turning purple and gritted my teeth. </p><p>"Ok, I'll consider it!" I grunted. "Just please...let me go!"</p><p>"Consider it?" he asked bringing his face close to mine.</p><p>He still hadn't released me. Sweat trickled down my back uncomfortably. "I...I have to think!" I blurted. "I have to plot...it'll take time! Please..."</p><p>Lucas studied me for a moment longer, his expression softening. He stood up and methodically began unwinding the catgut, releasing my hand. I immediately curled my fingers up protectively and brought the hand to my chest, curling my other hand around it. Thus cradling my injured digits, I dropped my gaze to my knees. I was aware of Lucas moving away from me and bending to retrieve my laptop from the floor. He sat it down in the desk in front of me.</p><p>I was still catching my breath from my brush with finger amputation. True he had not permanently injured it but it was paining me all the same. He reached out to me and I flinched.</p><p>"Let me see it," he commanded.</p><p>Not in any frame of mind to disobey him at this point, I slowly extended my left hand towards him and he took it gently and examined the forefinger. It struck me how gentle his hands could be and I would have hardly believed that a mere sixty seconds ago he'd been contemplating maiming me. I shivered when his thumb drew a line up my finger.</p><p>"You're fine," he declared, letting my hand drop. "Now get 'plotting'."</p><p>As I waited for my computer to re-boot, I glanced up at Lucas. "You weren't really going to...take my finger," I said, laughing nervously. "Were you?"</p><p>Lucas crossed his arms, propped a hip against my desk, and pinned me with his whiskey-colored eyes. I slowly nodded.</p><p>"Right," I said. "I'll just, uh...show you what I've already written then."</p><p>                                                                        ***</p><p>Six hours in and my fingers were cramping. I flexed them over my keys. </p><p>"Can't I take a break?" I asked, looking at my brooding antagonist who paced up and down my office.</p><p>He was frowning and appeared to be deep in thought. He ignored my question. "I'm not sure the cave scene in Chapter Fifteen works," he mused.</p><p>I sighed and threw up my hands. "You can't be serious! It's five thousand words! I can't re-write the whole thing now! Besides I have to start packing for that damned writer's conference in New York!"</p><p>Lucas stopped pacing and looked at me. "You're leaving?"</p><p>I held up my hands. "Look it's not my choice and I am certainly not trying to antagonize you any further! But I have to go...I missed the last one and I promised Phoenix Books I'd be there. It's just for the weekend."</p><p>Lucas bowed his head diplomatically. "Alright," he said. "You'll work from New York then. And I'll be there with you, of course. Don't even think of pulling a fast one, Thea. I will make you regret it if you fuck this up."</p><p>"Are you fucking kidding me?" I cried. </p><p>"Do I seem like the type who would kid you?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.</p><p>I rolled my eyes as my heart and stomach plummeted to the floor. So much for an enjoyable weekend in the Big Apple.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Of All the Bars in New York...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Writer's conferences are not as interesting as they sound. It's not like Comic-Con or Dragon-Con. It's where we mix and mingle with other writers and those writers can can be authors of anything...from bad poetry to droning history texts. Very rarely does anything remotely exciting happen at one of these events and I wonder what the point even is. If someone offered me a joint to go with my red wine, I wouldn't have turned him down.</p><p>But that was hardly going to be the case with the dude now taking up my precious time. A long, tall cowboy from Houston who went on and on about how his five month affair with a famous pop singer had shaped his poetry and would I be interested in having one of his "chap books"? I groaned inwardly as he predictably produced one from inside the pocket of his cheesy embroidered faux suede jacket. I took it with a murmured thanks and excused myself.</p><p>I approached my editor Matt. "Uh, Matty?" I said, tapping him on the shoulder. "I really need to go...I kind of brought my work with me to New York and..."</p><p>Matt turned and grinned at me. "I knew you'd come through, Thea! Figured it out?"</p><p>I gave a tight smile. "Oh, yeah. I've figured it out. Prepare to have you mind blown!" I made what I thought passed for "explosion" gestures my hands as I said this.</p><p>Matt's smile faded and he looked slightly worried but then he laughed and nodded. "O-kay, Thea. I will be...looking forward to it."</p><p>I hurried from the room, ducking "Houston" as I did. No doubt he had thought of another anecdote to tell me. The conference was being held in the same hotel in which I was staying so my plan was to get as far away as possible before running into anymore insufferable people. Lucas had been suspiciously absent since I landed this morning. I was completely committed to working on the book while I was here but, dammit, a girl needed more than red wine to sustain her. I needed a bar...</p><p>I tossed "Houston's" chap book into the nearest trash can, asked the advice of the man behind the reception desk, and he gave me the name of a bar with a knowing smile. I winked at him and thank him in my most polite voice. Fifteen minutes later, I was spilling out of a cab in front of a very promising-looking place with a thrilling bass coming from inside. I tipped the driver generously and headed for the entrance.</p><p>"You know you drink too much," said a deep voice behind me.</p><p>I jumped in fright and spun around coming face to face with Lucas Bain. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, fuck off for tonight, Darth Bain."</p><p>Lucas frowned, then his face cleared as he got the joke. He actually grinned in amusement, the mother fucker. "Clever, Thea. But aren't you forgetting something?"</p><p>"I haven't forgotten!" I snapped. "But after mingling with those weirdos at the conference I need to blow a little steam." I eyed a very tall, muscular man who gave me a once over as he passed. "And maybe get lucky...it's been a minute since I've had any."</p><p>Lucas frowned. Oh, he didn't like that, did he? Too fucking bad. I turned and entered the booming establishment, already in love with the alternate rock band playing up front, and headed straight for the bar, my dark shadow following me. I cozied up and ordered an old fashioned. I turned to make a scathing remark to Lucas when the words died in my throat at the sight which met my eyes.</p><p>Tall as a fucking human tower, looming over everyone else at the bar, bantering with a group of people, that same cheesy grin, those same deep dimples and laughing eyes. He lifted the beer to his plush lips, and I notice how small it looked in his huge hand. I was mesmerized by the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. The memory of those hands all over me, taking my clothes off, going where I'd never allowed anyone else...</p><p>"Hey," the bartender said, bringing me back abruptly.</p><p>I looked at him in annoyance then down at the perfectly prepared drink he pushed towards me. "Oh...thanks," I muttered. I pushed a bill towards him and headed quickly for a dark corner booth. What the fuck was he doing here? Of all the fucking bars in this great big fucking city...</p><p>I sunk down into my seat, and stared hard into my old fashioned hoping and praying that snake by the bar with his infectious laugh didn't see me. I snuck glances at him every now and then, taking in the black button down he wore untucked over his stone washed jeans, the charcoal grey fedora, the familiar strands of dark, silky hair escaping from under it. He hadn't changed much in nine years, I thought scoffing to myself.</p><p>Lucas, my ever present shadow was right beside me. "So, who's the hipster?" he whispered knowingly. "An ex of yours?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "Not exactly...I just had a thing for him a long time ago. I was only nineteen. Not exactly the best judge of character."</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>I glared at this annoying interruption to my life. "He was douche. A dick. A total player and a fucking liar. Wanna know more? There's more! He fucking took my virginity and then he didn't have the balls to tell me already had a girlfriend."</p><p>Lucas' eyes were dark and brooding as he glanced at Jamie. Thoughtful. "He looks a little like me," he observed, an edge to his voice.</p><p>I kept my eyes on my drink and crossed my arms. "No." My lips twisted in disgust and I let the penny drop. "He looks a lot like you."</p><p>I mustered up the courage to look into Lucas' eyes making damn sure he caught my meaning. He did and, oh boy, the angry fire in his gaze would have melted a lesser person. But I knew this guy. I had created him...hadn't I? Then again, he had tried to take my finger off the other night...</p><p>He stared at me in amazement as realization hit. He looked stunned and angry. "So that's it! You're not into myths about fallen angels or reincarnation or any of that bullshit. You just needed a sexy vehicle to allow you to kill your ex over and over again in print! You're sick!"</p><p>"Will you keep it down!" I hissed.</p><p>Lucas waved dismissively toward Jamie. "He can't hear me. None of them can. So that's what this is all about, Thea? These last seven years of hell you put Serra and me through? Are you some kind of sadist or just fucked in the head?"</p><p>I was furious. "How dare you talk to me that way! I made you and Serra!"</p><p>Lucas smiled wickedly. "You think so?" He glanced over at Jamie then at me. "Or are we just caricatures of Thea and Jamie?"</p><p>My eyes widened. "Lucas, so help me..."</p><p>But Lucas had that evil glint in his eyes and there was no stopping him. "Let's get his attention, shall we? You've fucked with me for seven years. Now I get to fuck with you."</p><p>"Lucas...no," I muttered through gnashed teeth. "I'm warning you..."</p><p>Without another word, my old fashioned hit the floor near Jamie's feet soaking his size fourteen loafers. I groaned. He jumped at the loud noise, looked down at the broken glass then up at me, our eyes meeting in shock. A beat later, Jamie's face broke out into that snake oil salesman grin.</p><p>"Jeez Lousie, is that you, Theodosia?"</p><p>Bastards. Both of them.</p><p>I was frozen for only a second, then I was running like an idiot for the door. Who knew the slick jerk would follow?</p><p>"Hey! Theodosia!"</p><p>It was pouring rain outside and I was soaked within seconds. Jamie was hot on my heels, his stupid fedora somewhat askew and the raindrops already plastering his pretentious silk shirt to his...I shook my head. Fuck, no I wasn't going to look at that. I started walking looking for a cab.</p><p>Jamie caught my arm. "Jeez, Theodosia, what the fuck?" His big hands encircled my upper arms as he turned me to face him. "Don't you remember me?"</p><p>I replied through clenched teeth, "Yes, I remember you, Jamie Massey. And just like nine years ago, my name isn't fucking Theodosia!"</p><p>Jamie blinked. "It's a diminutive of Theodosia."</p><p>I looked at him, incredulous. Was he seriously doing this with me in the rain? I tried to shake him off. "I need a cab."</p><p>"Wait, Thea, this is incredible! We just bumped into each other...can't we..." He looked around, oblivious to the rain. "Did, uh, did you throw your drink at me back there?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and started to walk away. "No!" I shouted. "It was an accident."</p><p>Jamie jogged alongside me. "Well it's kismet then," he gushed enthusiastically. "I didn't know you were back in New York. Where do you live?"</p><p>I sighed and continued marching through the rain. "I live in Atlanta. I'm here for a writer's conference." My teeth were beginning to chatter. "And right now, I'd really like to find a cab and get back to my hotel room, have a hot bath, put on dry clothes and go to bed."</p><p>"Well, my place is just a block away. And you'll never find a cab now."</p><p>I stopped and glared at him. An off-duty cab came speeding down the street and I raised a hand in a futile effort to get it to stop but it sloshed past me. All I got for my efforts was drenched to my knees. I felt a large hand taking mine.</p><p>"Come on, Theodosia," Jamie said with a smirk. "We have to talk."</p><p>Well, fuck me.</p><p>                                                                                        ***</p><p>We arrived at Jamie's apartment, which was indeed only a block from the bar, and I was petty enough to noticed that it could have fit inside my Park Place condo roughly twice over...if not more. I smirked a bit, then shivered. </p><p>Jamie looked at me with that guileless expression that had melted my insides nine years ago and said, "You should get out of those wet things, Theodosia."</p><p>I crossed my arms and arched an eyebrow at him.</p><p>He smiled sheepishly as he pulled a shirt from his closet similar to the one he'd been wearing in the bar. "You can use the bathroom...I'll change in here."</p><p>Good call, Jamie, I thought. There wasn't a bit of privacy aside from the bathroom in his one-room loft. I hesitated a moment, then grabbed the shirt from his hand and disappeared into the bathroom. I hung my damp clothes over the shower curtain rod and threw the shirt on, buttoning it hurriedly. It went past my hips, hanging almost to my knees and the sleeves were too long. I rolled them past my elbows and fluffed my damp hair out from under the collar. I tried to ignore the palpitations of my heart as I came out of the bathroom.</p><p>Jamie was standing at a sizable shelf, seemingly perusing a huge collection of vinyl records. He turned and looked at me. His eyes swept my form up and down, an amused smile creasing his face. I wanted to slap him. "Feeling better?"</p><p>"Not really. I didn't finish my drink at the bar."</p><p>Jamie pulled a record from the shelf, place it on the turntable near the sofa and soon the mellow, mournful sounds of The Smiths were filling the room. "Remember this?" he asked.</p><p>I clenched my teeth and hugged myself. What the fuck was I doing here? I ignored his question. "Please tell me you have something to drink here, Jamie."</p><p>He never stopped smiling. "As a matter of fact..." he crossed to the small kitchen and opened the fridge. Removing a tall, curvy glass bottle he brought it along with two glasses over to the sofa. "...I've got something you're gonna love."</p><p>He gestured me over and indicated I should sit. I did so, slowly, hesitantly. "What is that? I asked.</p><p>He gave me a small smile and held one glass out to me. "Kauffman."</p><p>My eyes widened and I smiled for the first time since running into this serpent of Eden. "No, it isn't," I said taking it from him.</p><p>He raised his glass to me in salute. "Straight from Moscow." He downed his in one gulp.</p><p>I took a tentative sip. O-kaayyy. This was promising. I took a seat and drank the rest of it.</p><p>After refilling both our glasses, Jamie sat down on the couch opposite me and crossed his legs. "I can't believe you're here after all these years. I've been thinking about you a lot lately...especially with this new project I'm working on. I never understood why you left the way you did."</p><p>I sipped the vodka and stared at Jamie. "Really, Jamie?" I asked in disbelief. He had forgotten about Casey the Clinging Vine?</p><p>He did have the grace to look somewhat abashed but it was hard to tell whether it was sincere with Jamie. "Anyway," he said with a wave of his hand, sweeping our history under the rug with one gesture, "it's the project I want to discuss with you. I think you'd like it. I remember you telling me how much you liked all things Russian the night we watched Dr. Zhivago."</p><p>I scoffed. "That's taking it a bit far," I said, wanting to forget that night and trying desperately to extinguish the urge to touch his hair. I shifted under his scrutiny. "You do know I'm a writer now. And I have a deadline. I can't really help you with..."</p><p>He grabbed my hand and held it to his chest. "You wouldn't be helping me, Thea," he insisted. "It's an opportunity for you. Especially for you." He drew lazy lines up and down my arm with his long finger. "And I know you're a writer. Your books and your face, they're everywhere. I heard there was even talk about a film company wanting to buy the rights to your stories."</p><p>I shut my eyes and tried to ignore the silent primal screams of my body in response to him. I drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh "Oh, so you follow my career?"</p><p>"Hard not to when you're on the New York Times bestseller list," he replied with a cheeky smirk meant to be charming. "I thought you might welcome a a new opportunity."</p><p>Suddenly it hit me. A gleeful smile spread over my face and I giggled a little. "Ohhhhh, I see what this is!" I began to laugh and in between fits of laughter asked,  "Jamie are you in need of a loan? Is that what this is about?"</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. From Russia With Love</h2></a>
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    <p>Jamie actually looked stunned. "I don't want your money, Thea," he protested. "I have plenty of investors and money of my own for this. No, I'm offering you an opportunity."</p><p>I made an irritated noise and turned my body to face him on the couch. "Jamie, what possible opportunity could you have to offer me?" I asked, half amused, half annoyed. "I'm the author of a best selling fiction series that's probably going to be made into a movie. How you found that out, I have no idea," I murmured as an aside. "I live in a three million dollar condo in Buckhead. I rub shoulders with celebrities, politicians and musicians on a daily basis. I'm on talk shows almost every week. I'm riding high as fuck right now. Why would I want to invest in a...sorry for saying this...small time documentary with you?"</p><p>Jamie stared at me cool as a mountain lake throughout my entire tirade. I realized what a entitled asshole I must have sounded like when he began speaking again.</p><p>"Because it's something we talked doing when we were together for those two weeks," he replied patiently. </p><p>"Nine years ago, Jamie?" I asked. "Hell, I can't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, much less what I talked about with you nine years ago!" </p><p>I was lying; of course I was. I remembered my time with Jamie as if it was yesterday, with vivid clarity, preserved in glorious cinematic full color with Dolby surround sound. That was my problem.</p><p>Jamie was nonplussed. "You made an impression on me, Thea," he said, his voice a bit slurred from the vodka. He pointed a long finger at me from the hand holding his glass. "I never forgot that night. So, when this...thing just fell into my lap three months ago I knew I had to do it and I had to get you involved."</p><p>I shrugged. "Why didn't you just contact my publisher?"</p><p>Jamie winced as if I had said something obscene. "That's so...impersonal, Thea."</p><p>"You never called me," I said. "In all the years..."</p><p>"I tried," he countered. "Lee gave me your number and I called and sent texts but you never answered."</p><p>I shook my head, "Jamie, that's..." Then I stopped. "Oh...oh." A memory of lowering the window next to my seat on the Amtrak train taking me back to Atlanta nine years ago suddenly popped into my head. It was somewhere in Maryland, crossing a bridge over a large body of water when I viciously tossed my phone out the widow. It had been so satisfying then. Now it seemed like what it was...childish.</p><p>"And anyway," Jamie continued, "would you have listened to me?"</p><p>I looked away from him. "Probably not."</p><p>Jamie shifted, moving closer to me on the sofa. "Thea, this film could be my greatest work ever." His eyes sparkled as he talked. "My small film company received some correspondence from a confirmed source about a woman living in Siberia...alone. She's eighty-nine years old and never known anything but the tundra. She grows her own food, chops her own wood, and lights her house with candles and a wood burning stove. And she's been there since she was three." </p><p>I stared at Jamie, my lips parting as he told me all this. "Three?"</p><p>"Her family fled religious persecution when she was three."</p><p>I nodded my understanding. "I see. And she's just been out there ever since?"</p><p>"Never married, never left the wilderness for anything. Never wanted to." Jamie paused. "But now she's at the point where she needs help. And she's asked for it. According to my sources."</p><p>"Wait, so you're wanting to take your film crew out into the Russian tundra and film her story? While she's pleading for help?" I asked incredulous.</p><p>Jamie leaned towards me. "Thea the documentary would be helping her. Don't you see that? I mean it's not as if we'd be going in empty handed. Annika has already said she won't leave her old homestead. And she doesn't want the Russian government's help. You can understand why. She wants us to come to her." Jamie gestured to me with his vodka glass. "In addition to telling her story, we be supplying her with food, medicine, clothes, whatever she needs."</p><p>I nodded skeptically. "So you've become philanthropic in the last nine years."</p><p>Jamie frowned and looked down into his glass. "I wouldn't say that. I admit, I 've passed over some worthy projects simply because they wouldn't have benefitted me much."</p><p>"Ah-ha!" I said in a drawl. The vodka was really kicking in. "That sounds like the Jamie I know."</p><p>"But you have to admit, Thea, this is unique. This is fucking gold."</p><p>"It sounds mercenary, Jamie. Profiting off an old woman's suffering?"</p><p>Jamie looked frustrated. "Thea, you're not hearing me. Of course, I'll probably profit. I have to. But it's not entirely without charity. I thought you of all people would get that."</p><p>"I get it! I do, Jamie and it's a fantastic story. I'd love to see it come to fruition. My question is, why are you telling me about it? What is it you want me to do? If not finance it?"</p><p>Jamie reached for the vodka glass in my hand and set it on the table, then took both my hands in his. "Thea, I want you to go with me. To meet Annika. I think you'd be the right touch and she'd open up to you."</p><p>I stared at him. He couldn't be serious. "You can't be serious." </p><p>He looked into my eyes and held my hands a little tighter. "I've never been more serious."</p><p>I pulled my hands away, reached for the nearly empty bottle of vodka and poured what was left into my glass. Taking a sip, I tilted my head back against the couch while Morrissey's voice washed over me. I could almost taste the cold waters of Lake Baikal in every sip. Jamie waited in patient silence for my response. I sighed.  </p><p>I finally looked at Jamie. "If this woman's been out there for eighty some odd years, she probably doesn't even speak English. How the hell am I...how did you plan to communicate with her?"</p><p>Jamie shrugged that off. "We'd have an interpreter with us, of course."</p><p>I nodded, my head swimming. "Uh-huh. Of course," I murmured staring at him in wonder.</p><p>The crazy thing was I was actually intrigued by the whole thing and wanted him to go on but my brain was quickly turning to mush thanks to the vodka. I looked longingly at the empty bottle on the table and then back at Jamie.</p><p>"Got any more of that?" I asked, pointing.</p><p>He reached for my glass and set it down on the table, his eyes never ,leaving mine. "I think you've had enough, Thea. So...what do you think? Will you do it?"</p><p>As he spoke he stood up, apparently having consumed less vodka than I. He pulled me to my feet and I swayed a little. Jamie held me against him...for balance, I told myself. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. Again, just for balance. Nothing to do with how deprived of sexual contact I was. I swayed a little and I'm not sure if it was the music or Jamie catching me but it felt like we were engaged in a drunken slow dance.</p><p>"Sure, Jamie...whatever," I slurred. I tipped my head back and looked up at him. "M'not gonna fuck you again, though," I slurred.</p><p>I think he smiled his Cheshire cat grin. "I'm not asking you to..."</p><p>"Good," I purred, drawing the word out a little longer than necessary. "Cause I'm keepin' my feet on the ground this time, Jamie M-M-Maaaaaasseyyyyy..."</p><p>I heard him laugh, a high pitch, amused little giggle as he maneuvered me to the bed. "You're gonna be kind of funny sleeping on your feet, Theodosia," he said. </p><p>"S'not my name, you fuckin' douche..."</p><p>I heard his soft laughter, felt him laying me on the bed and pulling covers over me. I didn't even think of protesting. Something was nagging at the back of my mind but I couldn't quite grasp it. I closed my eyes, reached blindly for a pillow and bunched it up under my head. Sighing deeply, I sank into the downy softness, feeling pleasantly soft around all my brittle edges. I felt the opposite side of the bed dip as Jamie joined me under the covers. </p><p>Then a voice penetrated the fog in my brain just before I sank into sweet blindness:</p><p>"You are in such deep shit, Thea Corrine Brannigan."</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Let The Past Die</h2></a>
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    <p>I was dreaming. I had to be. In my dream Jamie Massey and I were trekking through the snow with camera men and a film crew. It had to be below freezing and even the down filled parka I wore couldn't shield me from the biting cold. Jamie turned to grin at me and plowed ahead. </p><p>"She's just over a quarter of a mile from here, Theodosia. Smile...cheer up!"</p><p>One thing I hated was a man telling me to smile. I grit my teeth and maintained bitch face instead. Suddenly, I lost my footing and found myself sliding down into a cold, snow filled abyss.</p><p>"Fuck!" I screamed. "Jamie!"</p><p>"What's wrong, Theodosia?" </p><p>I sat bolt upright, looking right into his handsome stupid face. The shock of the dream, the headache splitting me in two, and finding myself in his bed wearing nothing but his huge shirt caused me to react the only way I could. I reached up and slapped his fucking face. </p><p>He drew back, surprised. "What was that for, Thea?" he asked as if truly hurt. </p><p>I ignored his question and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Did you fuck me last night?"</p><p>Jamie smirked. "Thea, fucking comatose women isn't a kink of mine."</p><p>He rose from the bed and walked out of the room. I threw off the covers and followed.</p><p>"What do you mean 'comatose'?" I asked.</p><p>Jamie turned lazily from the kitchen counter where he had started making coffee, which by the way smelled heavenly. I found I was also craving a cigarette.</p><p>"You drank nearly an entire bottle of vodka last night, Thea," he said patiently. "Don't you remember?"</p><p>I put a hand to my head and closed my eyes. It was all slowly coming back to me: the Hoffman vodka, the Russian tundra, Annika, the documentary. And goddamn, mother fucking Lucas. That voice in my ear last night. Where the hell was he?</p><p>"Um, I'm just gonna go...get dressed."</p><p>Without another word, I turned and made my way to the bathroom where my clothes from the previous night still hung, now dry, albeit a bit stiff. I slipped into the jeans and white cropped top I had worn to the bar last night and pushed my feet into my black Doc Martins. </p><p>"What the fuck do you think you're playing at?"</p><p>I jumped and let out a tiny scream at the unexpected voice above me. I sprang up from the closed toilet seat where I was lacing my boots and spun to face Lucas. Tall, dark, menacing, leaning against the doorway to Jamie's bathroom, he speared me with his eyes.</p><p>"Don't ever do that to me again!" I hissed.</p><p>He held up one finger and in the tight space of the bathroom it was nearly in my eye. "You're in no position to dictate. I've waited patiently for you to sleep off your drunk and now it's time to go do some writing, Theodosia!"</p><p>I held up a finger of my own. "If you hadn't thrown my drink at him, none of this would have happened."</p><p>"That's a pretty little finger. It would be a shame if something happened to it." Lucas smirked. "Besides, you'll thank me later."</p><p>I fisted my hand and put it behind my back at his veiled threat and stared at him wide-eyed. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" I asked suspiciously.</p><p>He winked. "You'll see."</p><p>And like that he was gone, leaving me bewildered, befuddled, and pissed.</p><p>"Thea?" Jamie called to me. "Who are you talking to?"</p><p>I hurried back into the kitchen, raking my fingers through my hair trying to tame it. Jamie turned and looked at me, then gave me a little smile as he held a cup of coffee out to me.</p><p>My eyes devoured the steaming cup and I took it from him gratefully. "Thanks," I murmured. I took a sip. The caffeine hit my bloodstream almost immediately and I moaned in appreciation. "That's wonderful," I said, closing my eyes.</p><p>When I opened them again, Jamie had straddled a bar stool and was leaning on his elbow, chin in hand staring at me. The silence stretched on awkwardly as I distracted myself with sips of coffee and Jamie occasionally looked at an incoming text on his phone, dividing his attention between it and me. I cleared my throat.</p><p>"This is...weird."</p><p>Jamie looked up at me and put away his phone, giving me his whole unsettling attention. "Why?" he asked.</p><p>I lifted one shoulder. "I...it just is," I said lamely.</p><p>Jamie continued to stare at me as if debating inwardly. "Hey let's go out tonight. We can talk about the film..."</p><p>I was already shaking my head. "I can't. I have a deadline which is now in four days and..."</p><p>"It's because you're still pissed at me, isn't it?"</p><p>I met his eyes and found only curiosity there; no hidden agenda, no calculation. Still. It was Jamie and I wasn't quite sure I trusted his motives. Then again, I felt a little childish. Why couldn't I move on from that night, nine years ago? Whatever the reason, I wouldn't let him know that.</p><p>"No," I said lightly. I cleared my throat. "I really do have a deadline and I've never been this late with a manuscript...well, I mean I'm not late, but I'm later than I usually am. Four days is not a lot when you have to go back and revise and rearrange and..."</p><p>Jamie had moved a bit closer to me while I was talking and suddenly touched my face. My voice died away into silence at the touch of his long fingers. So familiar. So fucking familiar. How had I remembered that after nine years?</p><p>"You still babble when you're nervous, just you did when you were nineteen."</p><p>I opened my mouth to reply, my face growing red with heat, when Jamie's lips covered mine and my words were swallowed up by his mouth. Too surprised to respond, I stood there letting him kiss me. Then the two-year drought caught up with me and I was kissing him back, delving into his mouth with my tongue, grabbing the back of his neck and affixing myself to him, my body plastered against his. For one inexplicable moment I wished I wasn't fully dressed, that nothing was between us.</p><p>I felt his large, beautiful hand slide down my back and grab my ass. I was aching for him, longing to just be taken right there up against the kitchen counter, on the floor, where ever. Just needing him inside me. My coffee cup crashing to the floor and shattering, splashing coffee everywhere, yanked us both back into reality.</p><p>I put a hand to my flaming cheek. "Shit!" I swore. "Sorry."</p><p>Jamie waved away my apology and went to kiss me again but I put a hand on his chest. This had Lucas all over it. No telling what he would do if I stayed and continued this. I also did not relish a voyeuristic villain watching me fuck Jamie Massey.</p><p>"No, I...I really have to go," I muttered, pulling away. "Deadline."</p><p>Jamie looked frustrated as only Jamie could. He seemed unaffected, but his lips were pouty. When he spoke his voice was strained, not as carefree. "When can I see you again?"</p><p>"I'm flying back tomorrow," I answered, gathering my purse and cell phone, trying to be nonchalant. "So...I don't know."</p><p>Jamie was not satisfied with that answer. "Thea, you can't just turn your back on opportunity."</p><p>I held out my hands. "What opportunity, Jamie?"</p><p>Jamie waved his hand indicating the windows of his apartment. "It's a huge fucking city, Thea", he said in his most persuasive voice. "You can't deny it's fate...us running into each other last night after all these years when you're only here for a weekend."</p><p>Jamie looked me right in the eye, his face sincere but that devil's smile on his lips. I took a deep breath and sighed. I mean he had a point...what were the chances? Then again, that fucking deadline and Lucas Bain loomed darkly before me and I knew I had no real choice. I shook my head.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Jamie. Maybe in another time and another place."</p><p>Now where the hell had that bit of melodrama come from? I was growing, as my grandmother would have said, maudlin.</p><p>"You have to eat," Jamie said.</p><p>I screwed up my face in confusion. "What?"</p><p>"You have to eat," he repeated, as infuriatingly patient as before. "I mean tonight you'll probably be hungry and want to eat."</p><p>"Yeah, so...?"</p><p>"So, let's go out. We have the whole city..."</p><p>I started to shake my head again.</p><p>Jamie came closer to me and took me by the shoulders. "Don't say yes or no now, Thea. Just think about it. Here. Here's my number." </p><p>He handed me his business card. His business card, for fuck's sake. I took it reluctantly and shoved it in my pocket. Jamie followed me to the door. As I went out I turned to look back at him, his tall form leaning against the open doorway, his eyes traveling up and down me.</p><p>"Call me."</p><p>Never had two syllables sounded so seductive. Never in my life had I felt so much like a fly that had just escaped a spider's web.</p><p>                                                                                                      ***</p><p>I wrote in a frenzy that day. Lucas left me alone until that evening when he suddenly loomed over my shoulder as I was writing a particularly charged scene between him and Serra. She was lost on the moors of one of his camps, the spell with which she had enchanted herself wearing off and he approached her out of the mist. Normally he would have brought an army of minions with him but as I was obviously taking this story in a different direction, he had come alone. And now they faced off and the sparks flew as Serra drew her athame and assumed a defensive position.</p><p>"I'd prefer she not use the athame."</p><p>I jumped for the second time that day. "God dammit! I asked you not to do that!"</p><p>Lucas reached for one of his own athames. The iron one. I gulped as he propped a hip against the desk and nonchalantly twirled the weapon between his hands. Menacing, yet cool. He reached out with it and used it to tip my chin up. My eyes grew wide and...fuck, my belly fluttered a little. What the hell? Was this...turning me on?</p><p>"The athame is primitive, clumsy. You should never have given her one. She should have a staff, like the one in book seven. With a sharp tip. The carvings were a nice touch." He turned the athame slightly, making the cold metal roll against my hot neck. "Serra is soft and feminine. She wouldn't wield such brutish weapons."</p><p>I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I swallowed hard again. "But you would," I said throatily.</p><p>He grinned wolfishly. </p><p>I slowly reached up and wrapped my hand around the athame and relished the dark light in my villain's eyes when I gently pushed it aside. "I think you're all talk, Lucas."</p><p>I watched his smile fade and it caused a slow smile to bloom on my own face. "In fact, I don't think you know what to say or do unless I make you."</p><p>His eyes were locked with mine, his face looking like it was carved out of marble but something flickered in his gaze. Fear? Doubt? His lips parted slightly and his eyes widened infinitesimally. I liked this look on him. It gave me ideas for how to bring Lucas and Serra together to my satisfaction.</p><p>I tightened my grip on his athame and glanced down at it. No longer touching my throat, it was pointed towards my chest. Which was rapidly rising and falling with each breath I took. It was a risk I was taking considering his sometimes volatile temper, but the benefits far outweighed it and I was horny as fuck. I didn't know if I could do this with Lucas and wasn't sure I would anyway seeing as he was in love with Serra. But I knew someone I could do this with.</p><p>I slid my hand suggestively up the shaft of the athame, my eyes never leaving Lucas', then slowly turned in my chair back to the open laptop. I began writing again. The locked gazes, the slow dawning of understanding between my two characters, Serra's words dying in her throat as Lucas wrapped his hand around her athame and she allowed him to lower it away from his chest. Then, the kiss. Powerful, passionate, and possessive.</p><p>I should have been uncomfortable with him looming over me while I wrote. But I was strangely enjoying it. I had never written a love scene but it was flowing and when Serra topped Lucas, straddling his hips with her thighs, I stopped.</p><p>Lucas was breathing rapidly behind me, drinking in every word. I turned to face him. His eyes were fastened on the screen of my laptop, lush, gorgeous lips parted. I took the athame and slowly sheathed it in the holster at his hip, hyperaware of his closeness and heat as I did so. He finally looked at me, his eyes drifting to my lips and then back up to my eyes. </p><p>"You can kiss me if you want," I invited breathlessly.</p><p>He froze, his eyes going once again to my lips.</p><p>"I mean...since you like it and all," I said tilting my head towards the laptop. </p><p>Was that a smile on his face? A small second-cousin to a smile? I slowly got to my feet, our eyes locked. I stepped closer to him and tilted my head back, my eyes sinking shut. At first, nothing happened. Then I felt his hands, huge and warm, touching my upper arms, moving up to my shoulders. They stopped just short of my neck and tightened then he pushed me back down into my seat.</p><p>I gasped in shock and opened my eyes. "What the fuck?"</p><p>He leaned down, planting two massive hands on either side of my chair and looked into my shocked face, his eyes alight with amusement. "Never, ever forget who's in control here, Thea." </p><p>I cocked an eyebrow and laughed. "You?" I asked ironically.  </p><p>"Who else?"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and reached out to close my laptop. "So you say. But you were mesmerized moments ago, don't lie to me. You never even thought of doing the things to Serra I just pictured you doing to me."</p><p>He smirked and straightened up. "Maybe not. But if you're so keen to use real life experiences in your books, then why don't you go ahead and do it. Go on." He nodded at the laptop. "I'd like to see where you take it."</p><p>I took a deep breath. "Where I'm taking it," I said, getting to my feet again, "is straight to a bar and don't you dare think about following me."</p><p>                                                                                                  ***</p><p>I called Jamie and he met me in the lobby of my hotel. He wore a tweed jacket with suede elbow patches over a plaid button down, untucked, dark wash jeans and wingtips. No fedora though, thank God. I bit the inside of my cheek...only Jamie could pull this off. Still I had to needle him.</p><p>"How do you manage to look like a hood rat and a grandpa all at the same time?" I asked.</p><p>He dragged his eyes slowly up and down my body, taking in my skinny black jeans, tightly laced black leather corset top, and loose auburn waves. He stood close to me and took a deep breath through his nose as if he was inhaling my scent. It made me shiver.</p><p>"How do you manage to look like a character out of Shakespeare and a bougie slut at the same time, Theodosia?" he quipped with a cheeky grin.</p><p>I blinked several times. "Thanks," I said taking it as a compliment. "Let's go get blind."</p><p>                                                                                          ***</p><p>We went to eat first. At dinner I consumed two glasses of wine then Jamie took me to a place not far from my hotel. It was dark, crowded, and loud. The bar had two empty seats as if they were waiting for us. Perfect. I cozied up with Jamie and was about to order an Old fashioned when Jamie ordered us two vodkas. He looked at me with a inscrutable smile on his face. I smiled back.</p><p>We sipped in companionable silence until Jamie reached back and touched the exposed strip of skin where my corset had ridden up. I jumped at the contact.</p><p>"What's this about?" he asked.</p><p>I had nearly forgotten the tattoo at the base of my spine. I had gotten it on my twenty-first birthday. I shifted self-consciously. It was a butterfly, half black, half white flanked by a chain of moonflowers that snaked outward towards my hips. "Oh, um, it's...a butterfly. You know Greek mythology?"</p><p>"Sure," Jamie answered looking smug. His finger lingered at the small of my back. "Psyche?" he guessed.</p><p>I smiled at him. "Nice try, but no. Persephone."</p><p>Jamie lifted his chin at my revelation. "Ah...queen of the underworld. Spends half her life here and half in Hades." His fingers caressed my inked skin subtly. "How appropriate."</p><p>I smirked. "You have no idea."</p><p>Jamie pressed his fingers into my skin. "You wanna dance?"</p><p>I actually hadn't danced since high school prom, eons ago it seemed. But I felt compelled to agree. We stepped out into a crowd of very bad dancers and  I was glad of my stilettos that gave me the added height I needed to match my body to Jamie's. Most of the other dancers just seemed to be floundering to the heavy beat of a song I had never heard before. Jamie and I didn't do much better but when a slower song came on, he surprised me by wrapping me to him, pressing us as close together as two people could get.  </p><p>I didn't mind. Not really. Even if it was Jamie fucking Massey. My sexual resume over the last nine years was bleak and I was thirsty as fuck.</p><p>So, it felt good...really good...when his hand came up to the back of my neck. I never appreciated his large hands so much as I did at that moment. He held my head in his grip, four fingertips digging into my crown and one thumb teasing my chin and I knew with suddenly clarity that he was going to kiss me. And I wasn't going to stop him.</p><p>Right there in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by dozens of other couples, he brought his mouth down to mine. It wasn't the kiss of this morning. It wasn't the kiss of nine years ago either. It was a kiss that meant business, that said, I want to suck the life and soul out of you. And I was totally immobilized by that hand.</p><p>I pushed my remaining bit of sanity out the door and kissed him back. Uncaring of the crowd around us or the pulsing music, our mouth and tongues delved into each other. It became almost a contest of who could dominate the other, who could suck tongue the longest, who could move their hand more sensually over the other's body. A contest I lost when Jamie's hand came up to cup my breast.</p><p>I broke off slightly but kept my arms around his neck. "Jamie, they'll see!" I hissed.</p><p>Jamie gave that lopsided grin and I knew what he was thinking. He liked that I was more concerned about being observed than about where his hand was. He gave my breast a gentle squeeze and his thumb traced my nipple through the cup of my bodice. I nearly moaned.</p><p>He kissed the side of my neck, just below my ear and whispered, "People only notice if you make a big deal out of it."</p><p>I stared into those soft, dark eyes for a second then I reached up and kissed him again and didn't say anything about the hand that continued to stroke the curve of my breast, teasing my nipple into hardness. His other hand slid down to my ass and hauled me up against him, leaving no doubt in my mind where this night was going to end. I kissed his sweat slicked neck, flicking my tongue across his skin and tasting his salty flavor. He was right; no one seemed to notice.</p><p>Even when his hand traveled down my belly and he dragged my zipper down. And there on the dark dance floor, Jamie began rubbing me, flicking his long fingers back and forth, then in tight circles over my clit through the fabric of my panties. I gasped and bit down on his shoulder. It was hard to remember to move my feet. Mostly we just swayed together. I felt my belly beginning to clench. God, he was getting me so close and the fact that he was doing it in public made it even more heart stopping. </p><p>My nails dug into his biceps. "Fuck, Jamie," I whispered. I'm not even sure he heard me above the noise of the music and crowd. I let out a strangled gasp as I came, feeling the downpour between my legs. I moved against his talented fingers, my hand grabbing his wrist, desperate to keep his hand just there. I heard him chuckle and I looked up at him.</p><p>"Get me out of here, Jamie Massey."</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Baby, I'm Twisted</h2></a>
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    <p>We pushed through the crowd towards the nearest exit and found ourselves outside in a dark alley. I was gasping for breath when Jamie grinned at me...the same wolfish grin Lucas had given me earlier...and backed me up against the wall of the bar.</p><p>His nostrils flared as he breathed me in and his dark eyes devoured me. "There's nothing better than the sight and smell of a woman about to let you have her."</p><p>I cocked my brow at him. "Have? You think I'm your possession now, Jamie?" I asked, unable to resist challenging him.</p><p>"We're all possessions during sex, Thea," he replied matter-of-factly.</p><p>"Stop being so continental, Jamie, and kiss me."</p><p>He kissed me hungrily, his hands getting busy at my waist. He pushed my jeans down along with my panties and plunged two long fingers inside my slippery wet center. I was still throbbing with aftershocks from my orgasm as he pumped his fingers in and out while he sucked on my lips then my neck. I watched him hungrily consume my skin as if he couldn't get enough.</p><p>He pulled the cup of my leather corset down and bit my nipple. I moaned loudly, not even caring who heard. I kicked my jeans off and let Jamie pull my naked thigh up alongside his hip. He reached between our bodies and suddenly his cock was right where I needed it. He pushed it inside me and I winced a little at the sudden intrusion. But I welcomed the tight fit, the discomfort, the overwhelming feeling of it all. It was rapidly hurtling me toward another, stronger orgasm.</p><p>Jamie's hand clutched the back of my thigh, holding it tight against his hip as he fucked me up against the wall of the club. His harsh breathing was turning slowly into very vocal moaning. This was fucking crazy. We could get caught at any moment. I knew it, yet, I didn't give a damn and the last remaining bit of me that could think was grateful to Jamie for choosing to do this here rather than his or my bed. The rough bricks of the building were scratching up my exposed skin and probably wrecking the back of my couture corset top, but fuck it. Fuck it all. </p><p>I never knew how satisfying sex up against the wall could be, and never in a million years had I dreamed I'd be having it with Jamie Massey in public. It was filthy and perverted and glorious. I clung to him like a fucking vine, shameless and needy. I was beginning to shudder and come apart around him.</p><p>I muffled my cries of ecstasy by clamping my teeth down hard on his neck, not even caring if I was wounding him or not. The throaty, rasping cries I uttered as I tossed my head against the brick wall behind me filled the dark alley. Jamie pressed his sweat slickened forehead to mine, and I could feel his hot breath as he grunted and groaned. Already I was in pain but it was a good pain, the kind that danced with pleasure and made the two inextricable. He moved with long rapid strokes, watching my face at close range to see my every reaction to his movements.</p><p>My legs were beginning to tire and he seemed to sense this. Without breaking our connection, he pulled me from the wall, wrapping my legs tight around him and moved me to sit on a stack of wooden crates right outside the back door we'd used. I leaned back and kept my legs wrapped tight around his hips as he continued to pummel me. I was building up again, impossibly racing toward another earth shattering climax. When he suddenly hit that sweet spot inside me, my lips parted in an earthy moan and a fervent "yes!" and he began thrusting harder, fiercer.</p><p>"Christ, Jamie!" I yelled, grabbing his shoulders for support.</p><p>"Don't," he said in guttural voice. "Don't close your eyes."</p><p>I didn't even realize I had been doing it until he said that. Vision seemed superfluous at that moment, lost as I was in an impending, unheard of third orgasm. I opened my eyes and they locked with his. The pressure within me finally exploded for a third time that night, sending my body thrashing and shaking. I'd have thought Jamie would slow down after that, but he didn't. He kept up the same ardent pace, holding my thighs close around him and it was almost too much after that orgasm. I could see from his face that my responses triggered and drove him on. </p><p>I wanted to see him come so badly, wanted to see what I had missed all those years ago because I had kept my eyes closed. I reached for his hips, then around to grab his naked ass. My nails dug into his flesh and I felt him stutter against me. I smiled up at him, locking eyes with him as I did. </p><p>Loss of control had him shuddering, his punishing rhythm thrown off and he was coming hard. I felt him release himself deep inside me, felt the liquid heat of him, and saw his face twisted in ecstatic agony. I smiled at the power I wielded and knew at last what it was like to be Serra. His silky black hair fell forward, half hiding his face and his harsh panting stirred my own hair, he was so close to me. </p><p>We heard voices and shuffling footsteps. Jamie hurriedly pulled out of me and I brought my legs down quickly while he refastened his jeans. Panicking, I looked around for my own jeans and underwear but I saw they were already in Jamie's possession. He hauled me to my feet, then stood in front of me as I dressed. As I fumbled with my clothes, I heard the low snick of a cigarette lighter as Jamie leaned against the wall, still shielding me from two people who were making their way down the alley towards us. I yanked my panties and jeans on and was just zipping up when Jamie turned to me and pulled one of the two lit cigarettes he held from between his lips. He offered it to me with a wink.</p><p>I laughed softly. "Thanks," I murmured. I took a long deep drag and leaned against the wall next to Jamie.</p><p>We both nodded and murmured a greeting to the two people as they passed us and entered the club. Then we looked at each other. A tentative smile and a couple of nervous laughs and we returned to our cigarettes, drawing and exhaling in awkward silence. </p><p>Jamie looked at me and reached over to touch my face. I slowly turned my head and stared at him while his long finger drew a line down my cheek to my jawline.</p><p>"You OK?" he asked.</p><p>Aside from the splinters in my ass?" I quipped, blowing a bit of smoke his way.</p><p>He laughed sheepishly. "Sorry," he said in a way that didn't sound sorry at all.</p><p>"No you're not," I teased. How easy it was to fall into banter with him. What had happened to me these past three days? </p><p>"Are you really ok, Thea?"</p><p>I nodded, feeling the drop that comes after really intense sex and three strong orgasms. Also, I felt dirty. "I just really need a shower," I said with a laugh.</p><p>"Come back to my place," he offered.</p><p>I shook my head. "Nope. Can't."</p><p>Jamie looked pouty but resigned. "The deadline?"</p><p>I nodded. "And I'm flying home tomorrow. So..."</p><p>Jamie crushed out his cigarette and looked like he was debating inwardly. He bit his lip. "Thea, I don't want to lose touch with you now that we've reconnected. I was really...fucking bummed when you ran off." He spoke so sharply, so matter-of-factly that if it hadn't been for the sincerity in his eyes I wouldn't have believed him. He rushed ahead as if afraid I would stop him. "You are really something special. And I want you to come with me to meet Annika. I want you to..."</p><p>I stared at him. "What, Jamie? What do you want me to do?"</p><p>"Be a part of this. Be a part of my film and...my life."</p><p>I took a last drag on the cigarette before throwing it down and grounding it out with my heel. I took a shuddering breath. "Jamie, you only feel that way because we just had hot sex in an alley and I'm a novelty for you right now."</p><p>"No." Jamie took my arms and looked into my eyes. "Maybe before, but not now. I've done nothing but think of you ever since I learned about Annika. I don't know why, but it's like you and she are entwined somehow and I just have to...fucking piece it together!"</p><p>I looked at him incredulously. "You realize how nuts that sounds, Jamie?"</p><p>I know," he conceded, his voice growing more urgent. "I know. But it's just there. I would have contacted you in Atlanta, but then there you were last night in the bar. I never go to that fucking bar...it was someone's else's choice...and, fuck, Thea, you were there! Don't you see?"</p><p>I did feel it was against all odds that we should meet under such circumstances but I couldn't think about that right now. I had that damned deadline to meet and love scene to write for Serra and Lucas. Which might now take on a new life after my experience with Jamie in the alley. How had my life taken such a crazy turn in just three days? Almost four days now...</p><p>I blew out a long sigh through my lips. "I need another drink, Jamie."</p><p>                                                                                                   ***</p><p>It was after three when I stumbled into my hotel suite. Jamie had seen me to the lobby but I refused to let him come up with me. It was a miracle I got the key to work right and then I spilled into the small foyer. I groped for the light switch and found it. </p><p>I yawned sleepily. Damn what a night. I wasn't lying when I told Jamie all I wanted was a shower and some sleep. I could probably live on the sex he had given me for another nine years.</p><p>I huffed in amusement. "Yeah right," I scoffed at myself. </p><p>I made my clumsy way to the bathroom, unhooking the steel busk of my corset as I went and letting it drop to the floor. Looking into the mirror I slid my jeans and underwear off for the second time that night and tossed them on top of the corset. My face was flushed and my lips swollen. My hair was a filthy mess and smudged eyeliner gave me racoon eyes. A couple of hickeys were blooming on my collarbone and my left breast. Shit. I looked like an overripe bruised peach. I smirked at myself. </p><p>Moments later, I sank down into a steaming bath filled with fragrant bubbles and disappeared under the water. I closed my eyes and listened to the rushing sound in my head for a few seconds before I slowly resurfaced. I swiped the water from my eyes and cracked them open. And screamed.</p><p>Lucas stood not four feet away, leaning against the vanity staring at me, arms crossed. His overcoat was gone, that was the first thing I noticed. So was his weapons belt, but I couldn't dwell on that. I crossed my hands over my breasts and drew my knees up.</p><p>"What the fuck is your problem? Can you not at least try to act like a gentleman?"</p><p>His eyes were hooded, dangerous looking. "Why? You don't act like a lady."</p><p>My mouth dropped. I made an irritated noise at the back of my throat.</p><p>He went on, "You don't look like one either. And you sure as hell don't talk like one."</p><p>I rolled my eyes. "What have you been up to while I've been out?"</p><p>"Thinking about our book."</p><p>I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Our book?" I asked.</p><p>He began to slowly walk towards me. "I've been giving that scene between Serra and myself some thought. As well as your very touching offer."</p><p>I was confused as I tilted my head back to look up at him. "My...touching...offer?"</p><p>Lucas lowered himself next to the bathtub and looked me straight in the eye. "You said I could kiss you if I wanted to."</p><p>I gulped. "Fuck," I croaked.</p><p>Lucas stared at my lips. "See, Thea, I've changed my mind about Serra. I know what I want now. And it isn't her."</p><p>"Oh, fuck," I moaned again.</p><p>Lucas cupped his massive hand under my chin. "Do you know what I want now, Thea?"</p><p>I couldn't shake my head because he was holding it captive. All I could do was mutter in a small voice, "No."</p><p>Lucas turned my head towards the full length mirror across from the tub and said in a low, wicked whisper, "You're looking at her."</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Undisclosed Desires</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The familiar and comforting sight of the Plaza Tower with its topaz lights was a welcome balm to my somewhat battered and confused soul as the plane made its descent into Atlanta. I felt like I was finally going to achieve some normality after what had been a weird and insane weekend in New York. Finally I was home. I sighed and leaned my head back against the plush first class seat headrest. I lifted the nearly empty glass of scotch to my lips.</p><p>I had just about made my peace with ending my series on a hopeful, romantic note. Redeem Lucas Bain and let him and Serra be together. Then this weekend happened. And fuck, I didn't know my left from my right anymore...</p><p>                                                                                           ***</p><p>"You're looking at her..."</p><p>For a couple of seconds I stared at our reflections, Lucas looming behind me as I sat in the tub, knees drawn up to preserve some semblance of modesty. His large, muscular arm curled around me and that massive hand holding my head in place to stare, wide-eyed. His own eyes meeting mine in the mirror...full of desire and intent.</p><p>I blinked rapidly to try and clear my head. I moved my lips but no words came out, only a soft little whimper. I glanced up to meet the actual eyes of the villain I had made. He loosened his hold on me and suddenly my arms were around his neck and we were kissing...Lucas Bain, the character I had invented, had inextricably come to life, stepped straight from the pages of my books, and was kissing me while I sat in a tub of rapidly cooling water and disappearing suds. </p><p>I moaned plaintively against his mouth and then he was lifting me from the water, some of it sloshing over the sides to wet the bathroom floor. But neither of us cared. I was too far gone, my body once more impossibly aroused. Lucas carried me to the large four poster bed and laid me, dripping wet, on top of the down comforter. I could fee the pillows beneath my head already soaking up the water from my hair, but I didn't give a damn about that. Not now.</p><p>"Lucas," I whispered breathily.</p><p>Could this be happening or was there some hallucinogenic in that cigarette Jamie had given me in the alley? It certainly felt real enough. I suddenly wanted to see how far this could actually go. I didn't even care if it was lucid dream I was having or that I'd been rawed on a stack of crates two hours earlier. I reached for Lucas and pulled him down over me. I practically tore his shirt from his muscular shoulders as he kissed me again. God, his lips were so soft, his muscles rock hard, and his skin so warm. He was flesh and blood...impossibly corporeal. As our lips melded together and our tongues skated against each other, I reached down intrepidly to test that theory further. </p><p>Holy shit, it was real. All of it. My hand closed around his erection through his trousers and I sucked in a sharp breath and bit my lip. I felt a warm rush of wetness between my legs. How could I be ready to fuck again so soon? Especially after the pounding Jamie had given me? I fumbled with the fastenings of his pants and he assisted me in removing them, his eyes glistening with eagerness as he flung them to the floor.</p><p>I ran my hands up his naked torso, drinking in his beauty, marveling how like and yet how unlike Jamie he was...while his feral eyes watched me closely, I slid my hand down again, gripping his muscular thighs. He was warm and hard and soft at the same time. Jesus, I had never been so turned on. I took his length in my hand again, stroking him up and down.</p><p>My eyes met his.</p><p>"Thea," he murmured and my name never sounded so good.</p><p>"I want to taste you, Lucas," I whispered.</p><p>I leaned forward and he leaned back. Keeping my eyes on his, I slowly took him in my mouth. </p><p>"Fuck," he whispered, his hand caressing my hair, sweeping it to the side so he could watch. </p><p>I prayed he wouldn't pull my hair or push my head down on him and he didn't. He just kept a light grip on my hair, softly stroking it, letting me set the pace. But when I raised my soft palate and took him deep, I felt those large hands, both of them, come to rest on my head and a deep moan from above. Eight fingertips dug into my scalp while his two thumbs rested along my jawline. My eyes watered a little, I started to gag but I was determined to bring him under my power, and I sucked and swirled my tongue harder.</p><p>When I snuck a glance up at him, he was watching me with what might have been fear or apprehension. Ah, of course! He'd never done this before...not with Serra, not with anyone. It was a heady thing to think I was his first. I could hear him panting, the fingers on the back of my head digging in...then suddenly he pulled out.</p><p>I shuddered and let my face relax then looked up at him.</p><p>"I want to be inside you," he panted.</p><p>Before I could say a word in reply to that, Lucas pushed me back and pulled my legs up and around his waist. I put up a half-hearted struggle, but damn, I had written him strong and I wasn't really thinking coherently at this point. I was his toy. Forcing me to lock my ankles behind his back, he guided the head of his cock to my pussy, gathering lubrication. Pressing my thighs tightly about him, he shoved into me with a heartfelt groan.</p><p>I took one moment to envy how quickly a man could be ready for sex. He wasn't taking his time with me, but I had no cause for concern. Watching him take me violently was surreal. It was as I had secretly imagined him taking Serra in those dark fantasies of mine that I barely admitted to having. Because that would never happen. Because he was a villain. Because he was someone I...I mean Serra hated. I closed my eyes. So many reasons it was wrong...</p><p>"Knew I wanted you...the moment you flaunted yourself...like a tart tonight," he breathed, his face very close to mine. "Your hips...your ass..."</p><p>My eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice. </p><p>He smiled at me, a wicked Lucian smile. "I thought if you can move that well when you're upright...shit...what could you do if I got you horizontal."</p><p>His naughty words were doing things to me. I let out a small whimper as he began fucking me harder. "I knew it," I whimpered. "I fucking knew it..."</p><p>"What," he demanded breathlessly. "What did you know?"</p><p>I moaned. "Ugh...I knew you'd be good. So...so good..."</p><p>His face became distorted, his movements fast and shallow, then he growled behind tightly closed lips, and let himself fall on top of me. He rested for a moment, and I could feel his heartbeat fast through his chest. His heartbeat...</p><p>Afterwards he held me close and it felt so good, wrapped in his big, strong arms, I could have melted away into nothingness and the whole world be damned. I felt like a spoiled cat, petted, prized, glutted on cream. A lazy smile came to my face as Lucas moved against me, tightening his hold on me. He wasn't asleep then. Dimly, I wondered if he would want to do it again and I found I was far from opposed to the idea if he did.</p><p>"It's going to be so perfect, Thea," he practically purred in my ear sending sparks of heat down to my toes. He chuckled, the sound warm and intimate near my ear. "You wanted it for a long time, didn't you?"</p><p>His question caught me off guard and I felt my cheeks flood with heat. I blinked rapidly and tried to formulate a response. "I...uh...I mean...I..."</p><p>He only laughed softly, tilting my head up to look at him. "I know you did. It's been one of your deepest..." he leaned down to kiss me. "...darkest desires. You like the villain, don't lie." </p><p>My eyes widened. "Uh...hmmm...wh-what?" I asked in hazy confusion.</p><p>He smiled lazily, his hand tracing gentle patterns on my naked back. "Don't be ashamed of it, Thea. You've always had a taste for villains. That's why you fell so easily for that slick hipster nine years ago. And why you're falling for me now."</p><p>I sat up and pulled the sheet to my chin, my brain suddenly clearing. "Wait. What the fuck are you talking about?" I demanded.</p><p>He pulled me back to him and his eyes darkened. "I don't like it when you talk like that, Thea."</p><p>I pushed at his chest, unease starting to build inside me. "I don't much care what you like and don't like. This was a pleasant interlude but that's where it fucking ends..."</p><p>Lucas tightened his grip on me and laughed, a deep throaty laugh that sent both pleasant and unpleasant chills down my spine. "Oh...you know better than that, Thea. And watch your language, I said."</p><p>I swallowed hard and forced a laugh of my own, though not nearly as confident as his. "Why? What are you gonna do If I don't? Use that catgut and take all my fingers off?"</p><p>My accent was blooming into existence, a sure sign I was scared shitless. Dammit, how could I be taken seriously when I sounded like a goddamned hick? I was angry. At him, for sure. At myself a little too, but overriding all that anger was a feeling of fear and helplessness. It multiplied at the next words Lucas spoke.</p><p>"No!" he said fiercely. "I could never harm you, Thea." He stroked my face and looked deep into my eyes. "Still, there's other ways to discipline...train you." He was speaking softly, his eyes seeming to look beyond my own, into my soul. "I'm going to take you back with me. To Renteria...we're going to find a way to defeat Serra once and for all and then you will be my queen..."</p><p>My eyes must have looked as if they were going to pop out of my head. I moved my lips numbly. "D-defeat...Serra?" I asked in whisper. I was shaking my head. I began to struggle. "No! No, no, no, Jesus Christ, no! Do you even...how can you...you're fucking insane! Let me go!"</p><p>I tried to wriggle away from him.</p><p>"I can't, Thea," he said calmly, holding me down. "We're one soul, you and I. This is what was meant to be."</p><p>"The fuck it is!" I said in a panicky voice continuing to struggle and push on his chest. "Get off me Lucas. You aren't even real. I said I'd give you and Serra your happy fucking ending, now get off! You're a fictional character...I don't even know how you're doing this but..."</p><p>Lucas let me go but only because I could see he was tired of my rebuttals. He watched me as I gathered the sheet around my naked form and jumped from the bed to face him on my feet. He was calculating, predatory. This wasn't over. I pressed both heels of my hands to my eyes.</p><p>"You're just in shock," he declared. "The honor has overwhelmed you. You'll realize the truth soon enough, Thea."</p><p>I could hear him dressing and I stood there, eyes still covered, trembling from head to toe.  Suddenly I felt his hand tug one of mine away from my eyes. Making me look at him. In his black button down and black trousers he stood close to me and kissed me gently on the forehead and smiled. Stroking a hand down my cheek, he murmured in my ear, "You're trembling, Thea. There's no need to be afraid. I won't allow any harm to ever come to you...not now." He turned my face toward his, kissed my lips, and whispered, "You're my soulmate."</p><p>I wrenched my hand out of his, tightened the sheet around me and flounced off to the bathroom. "You're a fucking idiot," I called over my shoulder.</p><p>And then thanked God he didn't follow me as I slammed the door.</p><p>                                                                                                 ***</p><p>"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now beginning our descent into Atlanta. Please make sure your seat belts are securely fastened and your seats are in the upright position..."</p><p>"Oh shut the fuck up," I muttered, jerked out of my reverie by the tinny voice of the flight attendant. </p><p>I sighed and returned my seat to an upright position. Last night, or rather very early this morning, when I had finally emerged from the bathroom, Lucas was gone and I was much too stirred up to sleep. Fucked stupid twice in one night by two men. They say be careful what you wish for...well, my sexual drought was over but this definitely wasn't how I had imagined it ending. </p><p>I spent the rest of last night in a writing frenzy. I continued the story as Lucas had requested, ignoring his outrageous statement that he wanted me. Of course with my target audience being young adults, Lucas and Serra wouldn't actually have sex. That would merely be implied at a later date. And the crazy notion of me and Lucas? Ha! Fuck that!</p><p>As I ran through the concourse of JFK to catch my flight barely making it on time that morning, I had smiled to myself.</p><p>I felt I had brought them together in a way that satisfied me and should satisfy those hormonal fucking teenagers who loved a toxic romance. Only if Lucas left me alone for good. His irrational new-found obsession with me, while it had provided mind blowing sex, was ridiculous. I shook my head as the seatbelt light turned off and I surged to my feet to grab my carry-on. The sooner I got back to my normal life, the better. </p><p>                                                                           ***</p><p>The sun was sinking gorgeously behind the skyline of Buckhead. If I wasn't so tired it would be the perfect night to go out on the town with Danielle. I slung my rolling carry-on through the door of my apartment and slammed the door shut behind me. I slid the deadbolt home and flipped a couple of switches.  Soft recessed lighting illuminated the living room and soft R&amp;B came through the hidden sound system. I stalked over to my bar and poured myself another Scotch, toeing off my high heels as I did. </p><p>My phone vibrated and I rolled my eyes, grinning. It was Jamie, I knew without looking. I sent it to voicemail, not because I harbored any ill will toward him anymore. If my weekend in New York had brought about anything other than confusion and discomfort, it was the realization that I didn't hate Jamie Massey anymore. But I didn't know exactly how I felt about him. The encounter with Lucas left me even more baffled.</p><p>I cautiously approached the door to my office, the place where I had first encountered Lucas in the flesh. I smiled ironically at the phrase. He was flesh and blood alright. The room was restored to order, the books back on their shelves and the desk neat. From my office window I could look down at the traffic, the noise muffled thirty stories up where I was, and appreciate the subtle glow of the city as it came to life with the setting of the sun. I felt like a bird, safe in her nest at last where nothing could hurt me. I locked the door to the office, just in case, before I turned and padded down the hall to my bedroom with a sigh of relief. </p><p>I changed into a clean camisole and panties, then fell into bed, almost asleep before my head hit the pillow.</p><p>I'm not sure what woke me up. It was pitch black outside save for a few city lights still stoically gleaming. I heard a noise near the window and sat up. Reaching stealthily for the nightstand drawer I noiselessly slid it open and wrapped my hand around the comforting textured grip of my .38 revolver. I held my breath as I reached for the light switch but it wouldn't work. Damn bulb must be burnt out.</p><p>"Who's there?" I called out, sounding more frightened than confrontational. </p><p>That's when I heard it. Low, sinister giggling coming from the direction of the window. I pointed my pistol in the general direction and pulled back the hammer. Slipping my finger confidently into the trigger guard, I gently squeezed.</p><p>And nothing happened. Another snicker from the window.</p><p>I let out a horrified breath. I pulled the hammer back again and squeezed the trigger once more. The hammer clicked, and again nothing happened.</p><p>I began pulling the trigger frantically now, one hundred percent sure the gun had been loaded when I put it in the drawer. The figure by the window moved, grew closer and closer. Whoever it was was standing right by my bed now, their shadow looming over me as a small fist was extended, opened, and six .38 bullets showered down over my legs.</p><p>"Never underestimate your opponents," said a feminine voice. "You taught me that."</p><p>I froze and slowly raised my eyes to meet those of this intruder. Long, wavy red hair, a beautiful but ferocious expression on her face, black crop top, tight black jeans, a weapons belt similar to the one Lucas wore and a sharply pointed spear slung over her shoulder. </p><p>She shifted the spear into her hands in one fluid movement and pointed it at my chest. I could see in the darkness her white teeth bared. I cried out and scrambled back against the headboard of the bed, gun dropping to my lap, useless. I put my hand to my mouth.</p><p>The girl continued to stare daggers at me. "So. Where's my man, you cunning whore?"</p><p>My eyes were round with horror and my lips trembled as I whimpered her name. "Serra..."</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Sympathy For the Devil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I gulped as the sharpened tip of Serra's staff nudged my throat. </p><p>She repeated her question. "I said, where is my man, you cunning whore? I know he's here somewhere. When he took so long coming back, I knew you'd done something to him. Now," she growled, pressing the tip of her staff harder against my throat. "...where. Is. He?"</p><p>I blew a long sigh out through my pursed lips. "Serra," I murmured again. "Oh, hell, not you too..."</p><p>I saw her eyes narrow suspiciously and she didn't change her offensive position one bit. </p><p>I laughed crazily. "Oh my God, Serra. Listen. You just would not believe..."</p><p>"I believe you lured him here somehow and seduced him!" she cried. Her lip curled. "What's your power over him anyway? What are you...a witch or something?"</p><p>I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat. "A witch...good God. No! I have no fucking power!" I said slapping the mattress on either side of me in frustration. "He just...wanted me to...to...write the two of you...becoming...lovers. And when, at first, I resisted the idea, he stuck around!" I shook my head. "I don't want to take him from you! You can have him. He's crazy."</p><p>It was evidently the wrong thing to say. Serra's eyes turned to emerald fire and she practically snarled at me, "Liar! Of course you want him! All the women do!"</p><p>I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Can you just put that thing down and let's talk...I..."</p><p>But she merely responded by advancing towards me, forcing me to cower back against the head board. Oh, fuck...</p><p>"Serra, drop it!"</p><p>Lucas bounded into the room and Serra turned on him, refocusing her energy like lightening. Her lip curled when she saw Lucas, unarmed. He was undeterred, however. He took a running leap over the bed, over me, and grabbed Serra at the exact moment she aimed her staff towards him. I scrambled to the other side of the bed as far from them as I could get.</p><p>Serra put up a good fight, I will give her that. When Lucas grabbed her he also laid ahold of her staff and tried to wrench it from her grasp. She bit down on his hand making him growl in pain and then tossed her head back viciously. He was ready for that and just avoided having his nose broken by her hard skull. They spun in a tight circle, both with their hands firmly locked on the staff. </p><p>"You bastard!" Serra spat. "You were supposed to fix things and...oof...come back. Not boff this stupid hussy!"</p><p>"I'll not let you speak about her that way, you filthy mouthed...agh!" Lucas clenched his teeth in pain as Serra's elbow caught him hard on the cheekbone. "God dammit!"</p><p>Neither one was giving an inch on the lethal staff and it was an epic tug-of-war. I leapt to my feet on top of the bed as they came hurtling across the mattress, rolling together across my bed, taking my duvet with them and flopping with a decided thump on top of each other on the other side. Grunting and groaning, they scrabbled on the floor for a moment, between me and the door, damn them. Then Serra, with her smaller more lithe body, was able to extricate herself and find her footing before Lucas did. But Lucas still had hold of the staff and as Serra jerked it towards herself, it suddenly snapped in two.</p><p>Serra gasped and let go, the momentum of her action causing Lucas to stumble back.  He looked down at the two halves of the broken staff in his hands and dropped them with a clatter. I put my hands to my mouth as the two of them simultaneously drew their athames out of nowhere. As they circled one another I slowly sank down onto the bed and gathered the scattered bullets Serra had dropped on me. Glancing up at the two opponents every now and then I silently reloaded the gun with shaking hands. </p><p>I listened with half an ear to their exchange as they parried and thrust.</p><p>"You're always so damned feral, Serra," Lucas said, lunging for her unprotected midriff. </p><p>She easily foiled him. "You are ruining our story, Lucas!"</p><p>Lucas ducked to avoid her running charge. He spun to face her. "Ruining, hell," he growled, his eyes feral and savage. "I'm fixing what's broken!"</p><p>"Broken by you!" Serra howled, charging Lucas.</p><p>He was ready for her though and jumped aside, then grabbed her long red hair.</p><p>Serra screamed and lunged again, this time drawing blood as she slashed Lucas' shoulder. He let out a surprised cry of pain, and let go of her hair, then snarled at her in anger. He dropped all chivalry and dove for her, seizing her by the wrist. Serra screamed again. Lucas was pressing pressing the athame to her throat as he spun her round and tried to make her drop her own weapon.</p><p>"No!" she screamed, kicking against him. "You can't do this, Lucas! I'm meant to kill you again!"</p><p>Lucas grunted as one of her feet came into contact with his shin. "That shit stops tonight! I told you before I left, I will not wait another fucking fifty years to come back!"</p><p>Serra laughed maniacally. "But you can't finish me, Lucas!" she spat. "You never have! And if I can't have you, nobody can! I hate you!"</p><p>Lucas scoffed, still struggling to loosen her grip on her weapon, laughed, deep threatening. "Ha, says the girl who practically begged me to kiss her on the Isle of Letha!"</p><p>"I never did that!"</p><p>"Like hell you didn't!" Lucas accused. </p><p>Serra let out a frustrated groan. "Ugh! Begging! You have a begging fetish, Lucas! Does she beg you?"</p><p>"Don't talk about her!" Lucas said in a grating voice.</p><p>Bang! </p><p>Lucas and Serra froze and simultaneously turned their wide eyes upon me. I could hardly believe what I'd done myself. I looked at the smoking gun in my hand and then to the hole in the wall just above my window. Slowly I looked back down at them and cocked the hammer back. I shot once more for good measure then trained the gun on the two of them.</p><p>"I want this to stop," I ordered in a lethal voice I didn't recognize as my own. "I want this to stop NOW!" I dropped all pretense of not having a southern accent and let it rip. "You two are completely out of character and if you don't get back into the goddamn fucking book, I'm gonna kill the both of ya, and to hell with this fucking story!" I pulled back the hammer. "Now drop those fucking things."</p><p>They stared at me and Serra blinked first. Suddenly the doorbell rang. My eyes went wide as I looked towards the door and slowly made my wobbling way to the edge of the bed and jumped down. I had to pass by Lucas and Serra one my way, but I kept the gun trained on them the whole time. </p><p>"I believe I said drop 'em!" I yelled.</p><p>Lucas rolled his eyes and Serra gave a pout but they both complied. </p><p>"Now, I don't care how it happens, but you two are gonna work this shit out. Not another sound!" I yelled, slamming the door shut on the both of them.</p><p>I waited for a second outside the door to see if they resumed their scuffle, but when I heard nothing but silence, I padded to the door and flung it open without even bothering to see who it was. Then I literally jumped back a step.</p><p>"How the fuck did you get past security?" I demanded. </p><p>His eyes immediately went to my left hand. "Jeez Louise, Theodosia, what's with the gun?" Jamie asked. His eyes darted to mine. "Are you expecting trouble?</p><p>He looked so worried and concerned and his eyes were so warm at that moment. And my life was a fucking wreck so I just dropped all my defenses, threw myself, gun in hand, into his arms and began sobbing. "Holy shit, Jamie!" I cried. "My life is out of control!" I hiccupped and gasped. "I wish I had never started writing!"</p><p>Jamie was shocked but he slowly enveloped me in his arms. I could feel the bewilderment and discomfort practically rolling off him but he still humored me and hugged me to him. "Hey," he spoke in a soothing tone. "Hey. No, don't say that, Theodosia."</p><p>I sniffed and let out a sobbing laugh. "That's not my name, you idiot."</p><p>Jamie held me away from him and gave that precocious smile. "I know that. But it's...</p><p>"...a diminutive," we both finished together.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said rolling my eyes. "You've said so often enough."</p><p>"Hey," Jamie said softly, putting his arm around me and guiding me into the living room. "Let's sit down and talk. I'm worried about you, Thea."</p><p>We sat side by side on one of the leather couches and Jamie nimbly plucked the revolver out of my hand and laid it on the coffee table. Then he turned towards me. I took him all in and marveled at what a welcome sight he was. Trousers too short for his mile long legs, brown leather wingtips, a leather jacket that looked like it had been through two wars over a dark yellow button down. His signature fedora, usually so cheesy was actually kind of adorable. I frowned.</p><p>"What are you doing here, Jamie?"</p><p>He gave a guileless look. "Honestly, Thea? I was worried about you. You didn't seem well in New York and you didn't answer any of my texts or calls so I..."</p><p>"You just dropped everything and flew down here? To check on me?"</p><p>Jamie stared at me for a few seconds that little smile back. "I'm not a stalker, Thea."</p><p>I leaned back, startled. "I...no, Jamie, I wasn't...I mean, I didn't think...I was just going to say how..." I bit my lip. "How unexpected and...sweet that is of you."</p><p>I felt like I was going to break down again. Jamie put his hand on my knee leaned towards me. </p><p>"Thea, you want to tell me what's going on?" He glances at the gun again briefly and then back at me. "Do we need to call the police?" </p><p>I laughed, a harsh, ironic laugh. "The police? Oh Jamie, they can't help me!"</p><p>Jamie frowned. "Do I need to take you away from here?"</p><p>"No! I just got back from New York!" I cried, running both hands through my hair, and looking up at him. "I have a deadline to meet in..." My eyes darted back and forth frantically. "Holy shit! Two days!"</p><p>Jamie moved his hand from my knee and took one of my hands. "I understand about the deadline, Thea, but you're...sorry to be so frank, you're a fucking mess. Let me help you."</p><p>"What's in it for you?" I demanded.</p><p>Jamie looked taken aback. "Jeez, Thea, you really think I'm that much of a prick?"</p><p>I sighed and shook my head looking away from him. "I'm sorry Jamie, it's just..."</p><p>He moved closer to me on the sofa. "I know I don't have the best track record of...giving a shit about other people. But, fuck, Thea, if I didn't care about you I wouldn't have flown 800 fucking miles just to check on you and see if you needed my help!"</p><p>I put my face in my hands. "I know! I know...I'm...I'm sorry, Jamie."</p><p>I found myself leaning against his shoulder and he put his arms around me and held me. And I let myself be held. I had been listening for any sign of activity from the bedroom but I hadn't heard a thing since Jamie arrived. I sighed again, relaxing against Jamie. </p><p>"You wanna tell me all about it?" he asked.</p><p>I took a deep breath and kept my cheek in the crook of his arm, keeping my face hidden from him. He began a soothing up and down stroke of my back.</p><p>"You're going to think I'm crazy, Jamie, but...it's my characters." I paused before plowing ahead. "They've run completely amok and I've lost total control of them and they're making me do things I don't want to do. I mean the thing with Lucas was fun, I kinda lost my head a bit there, but then I found out he was just insane! And then Serra shows up...and they're both so out of character now and I don't know what to do!"</p><p>Jamie had stopped stroking me. He must think I'm a lunatic. His fingertips were frozen in the middle of my back. I could practically see in my mind's eye the regret in his face at coming down here. That's why I couldn't look at him.</p><p>He took a deep breath making me rise and fall where I rested on him. "These are your characters, Thea?"</p><p>It wasn't the question I was expecting. I frowned and answered, "Yes."</p><p>I felt him shrug. "Well then you just have to take control of them. You made them, you created their story, you need to own it. If you're going to put something out there with your name on it, it needs to yours. Not the characters', not the people the story is about. You. When I make a film nothing is ever said or done that I don't dictate. Because at the end of the day, my name's going on it."</p><p>I drew back and stared at him. "What are you talking about, Jamie? You make documentaries. Docs are just raw, unscripted stories."</p><p>Jamie tilted his head to the side and gave me that little smile. "Are they, Thea?"</p><p>I stared at him in disbelief. Then I blinked in realization. It was so Jamie...of course it was. "So you...script your docs?" I asked. </p><p>"Of course," he said with a toothy smile. </p><p>He looked like a devil, I swear. A devil come to take my soul straight to hell. I shook my head. "What...what about Annika?" I asked softly.</p><p>Jamie sighed heavily. "She's real, Thea. I mean, her situation isn't quite as dire as I made it out to be, but she's one hundred percent real."</p><p>I eyed him suspiciously. "And how much of her story did you make up?"</p><p>Jamie winced. "I wouldn't use that phrase..."make up". She does live off the land in the Russian tundra. And she is in poor health. We've already managed to get her a visa to come live here. I mean in Brooklyn. It's her price for starring in the doc." Jamie looked at me guilelessly. "And it's worth it because people are psyched to see how she's managed to survive all these years with no contact to the outside world. Like I said...it's fucking gold."</p><p>I just stared at him, mesmerized by the cunning and genius of it all. He returned my stare shamelessly. </p><p>"Look, Thea, if my docs were raw and unscripted, nobody would want to see them. They'd be boring, worse than boring, they be garbage, they'd be..."</p><p>"Real, genuine, honest," I supplied.</p><p>Jamie looked at me with all the innocent charm of a child. "In a perfect world, yes, Thea. But you and I both know it's not a perfect world." He gave a long, sincere look. "That's why you write fantasy, isn't it? To shape the world the way you want it to be?"</p><p>I frowned and started to shake my head. "No. No, I do it because... because..."</p><p>Jamie gave me a small knowing smile.</p><p>I signed in defeat. "At first it was because of you. To get back at you for...for..."</p><p>Jamie's smile grew. "For Casey?" he asked, his eyebrows rising. </p><p>I looked away and crossed my arms, hating the sound of that name even after all this time. "I know it sounds ridiculous now. But you have no idea how...it felt at the time, Jamie. I never dreamed it'd come back to bite me in the ass," I muttered. </p><p>Jamie's was full on grinning now. "Thea," he said, reaching out to touch my cheek. "I really wish you hadn't run away that night."</p><p>My heart was beating wildly in my chest. That feeling of being the fly caught in a spider's web was back. I stared into Jamie's warm chocolatey eyes and he stared back, still as guileless as a child. Even though I knew he wasn't.</p><p>I gave him a small smile. "I wish I hadn't either. I wish I had stayed." I drew in a deep breath and continued, "And given Casey the Clinging Vine a mean left hook instead."</p><p>I waited until Jamie's smile grew larger and he moved closer to me.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Passionate Kisses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"How long can you stay?" I asked Jamie, our eye contact unbroken for the last few seconds.</p><p>Jamie gave me cheeky smile. "That all kinda depends on you, Theodosia. How long do you want me to stay?"</p><p>I let my eyes drift away from his for just a moment, debating inwardly. I bit my lip as I looked at him again. "Stay with me until I pass the deadline?" I asked.</p><p>He grinned at me. "I'd love to."</p><p>I returned his grin. "Excellent."</p><p>I got up and went to my linen closet, pulling out sheets, a blanket and pillow and padding back to the living room. I tossed them onto Jamie's lap much to his bewilderment.</p><p>I winked at him. "That's right. You're sleeping out here. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."</p><p>I turned on my bare heel and walked back down the hall to my bedroom. I cautiously cracked open the door and sighed with relief to find it blessedly empty. I glanced with a wry smile at the two bullet holes in the wall above my window and threw myself into bed. I was asleep within seconds.</p><p>                                                                                ***</p><p>The next morning I sat at my desk in the office typing feverishly away while Jamie reclined on a wooden chair he'd dragged in here from the kitchen after breakfast, my first Embers novel open in his hands, looking dwarfed despite being a full-size hardback. His leather jacket was hung with his fedora on the back of the chair and he occasionally rocked back balancing on the chair's rear legs as he read. </p><p>By seven o'clock that night, two empty plates that had held peanut butter and jelly sandwiches earlier sat on my desk, along with two empty glasses. As the evening wore on into late night, we had switched to scotch and homemade pecan pie for dessert. I grinned when Jamie rolled us a joint and we passed it back and forth, just like nine years ago. Time was meaningless now. Fueled by sugar, liquor, and pot, we kept each other silent company. It was pleasant. More than pleasant, I realized with a jolt. I could actually get used to this.</p><p>I glanced over at him and smiled at the furrow between his brow and the way his dark eyes darted back and forth reading the pages...no, not just reading. He was devouring them. His lips sometimes parted in surprise or in a delighted smile. No doubt he was slowly recognizing us within the covers but it was hard to tell.</p><p>I continued typing. It was heated scene between Lucas and Serra. The moors. Lucas' stronghold in the distance shrouded with mist. And Serra held the one thing in her hand that could end his existence for good. As he stalked out to meet her, lightening splitting the sky above them, he was unarmed. His face was set and purposeful. But the fact that he didn't draw a weapon on her gave Serra a pause...</p><p>I looked back up at Jamie. He had leaned forward in his chair and was propping his elbow on his knee, the book still open held in one hand while he absently bit his fingernails. His eyes still danced across the pages. Hours must have passed. I wrote on and on...Lucas and Serra's conversation on the moor, the stunning revelations, the denials, and finally...</p><p>Damn.</p><p>Fucking writer's block. I hit the delete button furiously in succession. Totally unnecessary, of course but more satisfying than any other way, and the last paragraph disappeared into oblivion. I sighed.</p><p>Jamie was deep into the third novel of my series, one long leg propped on the bookshelf, when he heard my deep sigh and looked up. </p><p>"What's wrong?" he asked.</p><p>I ran my fingers through my hair, dislodging the clip holding it up out of my face. "It's just this...damn writer's black," I muttered, frustrated. I stared at him. "Don't tell me you get that too."</p><p>Jamie smirked. "No," he said, closing the book but keeping one finger inside to mark his place. He stared at me as I shook my hair loose, his eyes following the movement of the dark waves and my fingers combing through them. He cleared his throat. "I don't get writer's block...but, uh..." His eyes slipped to the side and he smiled and dog-eared...fucking dog-earred!...my book and laid it aside. "I do try several takes when something's not working."</p><p>I raised my eyebrows, my irritation at him dog-earring the book fading. "Several takes?" I asked giving him a reproachful look. "Of course you do...Mr. Documentarian."</p><p>He gave me a toothy grin. "You wanted to know."</p><p>I shook my head. "Well, I'm writing a book in case you hadn't noticed. Not a camera in sight. Or actors...or whatever you call your doc participants." I gestured toward my laptop with the cursor blinking insistently at me. "Just this. And my own fevered little brain."</p><p>The wooden chair creaked as Jamie got up. He strolled over to where I sat, his hands in his pockets and I could see the wheels in his mind turning. He stopped about two feet from me and I had to crane my neck to look up at him.</p><p>"You sure about that, Thea?"</p><p>I blinked once, twice. Then frowned. "I don't...know what you're asking, Jamie."</p><p>He leaned against my desk. "What exactly are you writing?"</p><p>I blushed. "Well, it's a...a...love scene," I said softly. I felt my cheeks burn. "Nothing explicit, just...a kiss. Something to solidify their...connection." I swallowed hard and refused to look at him. "And end the series on a...a hopeful note. A redemptive note."</p><p>Jamie was quiet for a moment. The he gestured with his hands and said, "Ok, Thea...so where are they physically in relation to each other?"</p><p>I frowned in confusion. Where was he going with this? "Ah...well, they're talking...and um..." I slowly got up from my seat, still not looking at Jamie, and rambled on, "Well, I thought, as Serra is a bit overcome at this moment, she'd have her back to him...she's turning to leave once she realizes she can't kill him and he's not going to kill her..."</p><p>I start to walk towards the large picture window that looked down on Peachtree Street. Late night commuters were already starting to fill the street...medical personnel, I thought dimly, on their way to Piedmont or Emory. I took a deep breath.</p><p>"But even though he's not going to kill her, he's not letting her go either," I murmured softly.</p><p>I heard Jamie push off from the desk. "So what does he do?"</p><p>I cleared my throat. "Well, I thought...maybe he could follow behind her...and..." I swallowed hard. "I was thinking what if he put his hands on her waist?"</p><p>Jamie was standing right behind me. "What if?" he repeated. </p><p>I nodded once. "I mean he does. He does. He puts his hands on her waist...to stop her."</p><p>I felt a little thrill snake up my spine and right down to my toes as Jamie did just that. My eyelids fluttered a second and small smile possessed my lips. He placed his big hands at my waist and they nearly spanned it. Fingers pressed into my abdomen and thumbs at the base of my spine possessively. Just like that, I thought, almost closing my eyes. Jesus Christ, the man had fucked me raw against a wall in an alley two nights ago...or was it three? Why was this almost equal to the burning eroticism of that? </p><p>I had to get ahold of myself.</p><p>"What then, Thea?" Jamie asked.</p><p>"He speaks to her...tells her that he's selling his own soul for this. That this wasn't the way things were supposed to be between them." I licked my lips. "But it's too late to stop, he's...he's..." I paused.</p><p>Jamie lowered his head to speak in my ear. "He's what, Thea?" </p><p>I realized that I had control of this, now. He wouldn't move until I said. I felt high on adrenaline, like the time I had run along the coast of St. Simon's Island, barefoot and alone before dawn, salt wind in my hair.</p><p>"He's in love with her." I continued, "And he can't stop himself, once he's touched her, and so his hands slide up her ribs to touch..." Something felt wrong about saying 'breasts' in this moment. Until his hands stopped moving just below their swell, the sides of his fingers brushing the undersides of my breasts, and I felt that I would probably say anything to him if it got me what I needed. What I wanted.</p><p>"To touch her breasts." </p><p>And Jamie's hands didn't just touch them. He kneaded them like fine velvet, even protected as they were by my tee shirt. Then one hand stayed and the other dropped down to cover my stomach, so that my whole torso was encapsulated by his hands. I longed to lean back into the warmth that I could feel, but this was so much stimulation; my body was nearly shaking with the thrill of it. And I had to continue for Christ's sake.</p><p>"And Serra says in reply to him that she'd often wished over the centuries she could have sold her soul for a moment like this."</p><p>Jamie's hands moved infinitesimally but ultimately stayed where they were. "Then say it, Thea. Say it like Serra would say it."</p><p>I drew in a sharp breath. I was no actress. But I didn't have to act to play this part. My heart leaped into my throat as I covered Jamie's hands with mine.</p><p>"I think I would have sold my soul many times over the centuries for a moment like this, Jamie." I bit my lip, realizing my mistake. "Er, I mean, Lucas."</p><p>I held his hands in place loosely and they didn't try to stray lower, where I was starting to want them. It was so much easier to imagine than to vocalize. I couldn't bring myself to ask for anything more, but a small moan escaped my closed lips. Focus, Thea, focus.</p><p>"And then he turns her...slowly..." I murmured.</p><p>I nearly lost my breath as Jamie turned me slowly on the spot until I was facing him...or at least facing the buttons of his shirt. I knew how the scene in the book should go. I also knew how I wanted this scene to go. But I had to focus. Again, focus, focus, focus. I raised my eyes to Jamie's and tried to pretend it was Lucas. Why a neurotic, volatile villain should be easier than a slick hipster con artist, I had no idea. </p><p>"And because there're no words to convey how she really feels..."</p><p>"There aren't?" Jamie asked. </p><p>I blinked at him. For a split second I wondered how the hell he remained so calm and cool when I was a hot mess.</p><p>"I...no. I don't know, Jamie. I just thought they'd kiss and that'd be it."</p><p>Jamie nodded. "Ok, so then she has convey all that with her eyes. If she's not going to say it."</p><p>I laughed breathlessly. Fuck him. I suddenly understood why this was so much more difficult than sex. I could fuck him all night and day and never once acknowledge it was for any other reason than pure lust and pleasure. But this...this was wearing my heart on my sleeve. This wasn't even about Serra and Lucas anymore. This was about all those feelings I had buried deep inside me nine years ago and he was ruthlessly exhuming them. </p><p>Alright then. He wanted me to say it, so I would. And hope that I didn't regret it. </p><p>"I...love you. I always have. And I don't want to keep destroying you because..." I shook my head. "When I do, I destroy part of myself as well. And I've only just realized that."</p><p>Jamie's eyes were on my lips the entire time I spoke and when I was done I held my breath. His eyes when they met mine held a tender light I had never seen there before and a small, impish smile curled his lips. I was conveying the words successfully then.</p><p>"Well spoken, Theodosia," he congratulated me softly, before lowering his head and taking my lips with his.</p><p>I moaned softly as our lips met and stretched up on tiptoe to kiss him back. It was slow and tentative just as Serra and Lucas's first kiss should be. But a warmth began to spread outward from my belly the moment our lips met, giving a feeling like I had swallowed a shot of Southern Comfort too quickly. My heart seemed to be pumping violently within my chest. Forget breathing...Jamie had stolen that ability from me. I reached up and looped my fingers through the sleek, black strands of hair and parted my lips, inviting him in.</p><p>He deepened the kiss and tightened his arms around me, the hand at my back moving upward and into my hair, sifting through the waves and snarls that had settled there from not being brushed in two days. I moaned and sighed, tilting my head to get a better angle and never wanting him to stop. His lips were so soft against mine, I wanted more. I pushed beyond the boundaries of where Serra and Lucas would have stopped and forged ahead, deepening the kiss and pressing my body against Jamie's. He loomed over me, making me feel overwhelmingly small and lost in his arms. When he sucked my tongue into his mouth I moaned in approval, enjoying the warm, scotch-flavored taste of him. I was practically hanging onto him for dear life as he devoured my lips the way he'd devoured my books earlier. </p><p>I swiveled my hips slowly, grinding my body against his groin and smiled when I heard his groan, the first sign he was at least as close to losing it as I was. I gasped when he bit my bottom lip none too gently and I reciprocated by grounding myself harder against him. He reached down and grabbed my hips, our lips still connected as if we were drawing life sustaining substances from each other. </p><p>As we slowly broke off and I stared into those beautiful eyes, I heard a slow mocking clap coming from the doorway of the office. Jamie and I turned our heads simultaneously to look. Serra and Lucas both stood there, watching us. </p><p>"Who the fuck are they?" Jamie asked with an adorable look of befuddlement.</p><p>I looked up at him, stunned. "Wait. You can see them?"</p><p> </p><p>*******************************************************************</p><p>Musical inspiration: Passionate Kisses - Mary Chapin Carpenter</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Come On, Baby, Light My Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been Serra doing the clapping of course. Lucas merely stared darkly at us, arms crossed, his customary scowl in place. I wondered if they'd been to their "Shangri La" and then decided it looked more as if they'd been a reluctant captive audience to each other. Or to Jamie and me. I suppose I was grateful they hadn't killed each other.</p><p>But for now, I had other things to think about. My mouth open in disbelief, I looked at Jamie. "So, you can see them too?" I repeated.</p><p>Jamie looked down at me oddly. "Um, yes?" he answered as if my mental status was questionable. "Who are they?"</p><p>"You won't believe me," I said with a shaky breath, my eyes never leaving Jamie's. "They're my characters. From my book."</p><p>I waited for his reaction. No doubt Jamie thought the same thing I did when Lucas had materialized that first day. A couple of demented coplayers perhaps? Friends of mine playing a joke? Myself, I was just stunned that he could see them too. Jamie gave me a toothy grin finally. </p><p>"Wait, Thea," he said, shaking his head and looking down at his feet as if trying to hide his condescending amusement from me. "Is this some kind of joke?"</p><p>Before I could reply, Serra made the first move. She came towards us with her hands on her hips, a devilish smile playing about her lips and her green eyes taking in Jamie appreciatively. She flicked her emerald gaze towards me as she circled Jamie.</p><p>"Wow. I think I'm beginning to understand now," she said to me in a sly tone, looking Jamie up and down. "Clever. Very clever, T. C. He's not quite on par with Lucas, but I definitely see what you did there." She winked at me. "I mean they could be twins!" she laughed.</p><p>I crossed my arms and sighed. "Yeah, I know. That was the idea."</p><p>Meanwhile Jamie had watched Serra circle him in her predatory manner, leaning slightly away from her when she got too close as if she were a contagious disease. His perplexed frown grew.</p><p>"Uh, Thea?" he asked. "Mind explaining to me what the hell's going on?"</p><p>Lucas scoffed, "Good luck getting anything sensible out of her."</p><p>I shot him a murderous glare.</p><p>Jamie's head swiveled in Lucas's direction and his eyes narrowed. "Do I know you?"</p><p>I put a hand to my forehead where I could feel a stress headache coming on rapidly. "Jamie," I mumbled rubbing my head. "Do you remember what I told you about how my writing came back to bite me in the ass? Well, this it. Meet Lucas. Your alter ego."</p><p>Jamie's mouth was open in astonishment and confusion and I could tell he still wasn't grasping what was going on. Lucas merely smirked and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway. Serra was grinning ear to ear and then to all of our collective astonishment, she smacked Jamie's ass with her hand. </p><p>"I might enjoy having a little fun with you," she purred. The she glared at Lucas. "After I kill him, that is."</p><p>"Ok! Ok! No, that's enough, Serra!" I said sharply, stepping between her and Jamie. "It's already set. You don't kill Lucas in the last book...you and he..." I paused and glanced between the two of them before plowing ahead. "You and he are going to fall in love."</p><p>"What!" she screamed.</p><p>Lucas pushed off from the doorway and stood up straight. "I thought I made myself clear..."</p><p>"Quiet!" I yelled, pointing at Lucas. "You invaded my life nearly a week ago and practically threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't do this. I've written over forty thousand words since then and you don't fucking get to change pilots in the middle of the flight!" I rounded on Serra. "And you! You're an irrational jealous bitch which is not at all how I wrote you but you will get back on track. You are in denial right now. You love Lucas. You love each other," I said looking between the two of them. "And it took a lot for me to see that I've subconsciously written that subplot all these years without even realizing it! So now, you're gonna kiss and make up right here, right now!"</p><p>Dead silence while three pairs of eyes stared at me as if I had gone mad. </p><p>"What?" I demanded. "It's not as if..." I laughed a bit self-consciously and glanced at Jamie. "...ya'll didn't have a perfectly good example just now."</p><p>Jamie reached for his cell phone.</p><p>"What are you doing?" I asked.</p><p>"Calling the guy I got the weed from," Jamie said without looking up, "to see where he got it. I've had trips, but nothing like this. And never with pot..."</p><p>I huffed in amusement. "Jamie, it's not the weed. Trust me."</p><p>Serra stared at me, her hands still on her hips, her eyes wide and her expression defiant. I didn't have kids but in that moment I felt what it must be like to be the mother of an angsty pair of toddlers. Fine then. I strode over to her, grabbed her arm and began propelling her toward Lucas.</p><p>"Hey!" she cried, trying to jerk out of my grasp, her eyes wide and panicking the closer she got to Lucas. "You can't make me..."</p><p>I held firmly to her, probably bruising her fair skin, but I didn't care. I pushed her in front of Lucas who was eyeing me avidly but his gaze quickly darkened when he shifted it to Serra. I stepped back. </p><p>"Now," I said. </p><p>But I wasn't quite sure what it was I expected them to do. They stared at each other for a few seconds and I swear I saw their weapon hands twitching despite their lack of weapons. Oh, boy, they were not making it easy. I rolled my eyes. Obviously they needed a prompt. </p><p>"Ok, look," I said, my hand automatically rubbing my forehead again. When was the last time I had a cigarette? "I was against the idea at first. But then I gave it some thought after Lucas..." I paused and looked at the devilish villain. "Lucas persuaded me to consider it. And, to tell you the truth..." Then I glanced over at Jamie and my face softened "...well, it's really not a half bad idea. So let's try, shall we?" I looked back at my tense characters. </p><p>I circled round to Lucas' side. He looked down at me in condescending amusement, not unlike the look on Jamie's face moments ago. Because of his height I was unable to whisper in his ear, so I just talked to him in as low a tone as I could manage.</p><p>"Look into her eyes, Lucas." I waited until he did so. "She's been your nemesis for so long but you never really wanted that, did you? You were drawn to her the first moment you laid eyes on her. And Serra..." I looked at my heroine. "...you know there's redemption there. Just look at all the times he could have killed you and didn't. I mean," I laughed and held out my hands. "Do you really think it was luck or skill that saved you in book five? The Thirteenth Moon? Or book six, The Curse of the Ember Moon?"</p><p>"Well...yes!" Serra cried, but there was a shadow of doubt in her eyes. "Was..." she gulped. "Wasn't it?"</p><p>Lucas huffed humorlessly, his eyes spearing Serra. "I didn't kill you for the same reason she kept bringing me back." His eyes found mine. "She always knew this was where it would end up. She wanted a second chance for the villain. She loves her villains." He flicked a quick glance at me then at Jamie.</p><p>I blushed hotly and reached for my hair to tuck it behind my ear nervously. "Um, ok. That's not strictly true but the point remains...there has always been unresolved feelings between you two and tonight, I am going to finish this series and it will end on a redemptive note." Stay on track, Thea. "All I ask is that you work with me."</p><p>A tense moment passed where Serra and Lucas did nothing but stare at me and then at the ground. I took a small step backward, away from them as if they were two sticks of dynamite that could go off any second. I made my slow way in this fashion back to my desk and reached for Jamie's hand. I tugged him toward me.</p><p>"I think," I whispered. "I know what to do now. Thanks to you."</p><p>I pulled my desk chair under me and sat down while Jamie crouched next to me. </p><p>"Why are you whispering?" he inquired.</p><p>"Watch," I said softly.</p><p>With one click of the mouse, the scene I had been working on popped up on my laptop screen. I began typing, sure and quick, glancing up at them every now and then, acutely aware of Jamie at my side. I was breathless as I went...my lips parted, the pulse in my throat beating faster and faster as the words appeared rapidly across the white screen.</p><p>Lucas looked up first, his eyes locking on Serra, the raw hunger and burning desire in them stealing my breath. Yes. Serra, as if pulled by an invisible string also looked up and met his gaze. Overwhelmed by him and her own feelings, she made the motion of dropping her athame even though she held nothing. She turned and slowly began walking away from him, but he placed his hands on her waist to stop her...</p><p>Yes, it was coming together so beautifully, so perfectly. I was smiling now, watching them do everything Jamie and I had done as I typed it all out for them. I was practically panting now as their lips began to meet. And then...</p><p>Brrrrriiiiiinnnnggggggg!</p><p>A loud, shrill ringing suddenly filled my ears and a second later water was spraying down on us from above, saturating me, Jamie, my laptop, everything! I jumped back with a cry, jerking my hands away from the keyboard shock. My eyes snapped up to where Lucas and Serra had stood but they were gone. I let out a cry of despair even as I felt Jamie grab my upper arm.</p><p>"Thea!" he shouted above the alarm. "We gotta get out of here! That's the fire alarm!"</p><p>"Wha...no...no!" I screamed as he dragged me up out of my chair. "The...the book...!" </p><p>My laptop sparked, then went completely dead, drenched in water. </p><p>"No!" I let out in a primal scream.</p><p>I shook my head in horror, stupidly extending my hand towards the ruined laptop with the now dead screen. But Jamie pulled me insistently along with him. I was in shock, torn between screaming in anger and crying in despair as he dragged me out of the office and towards the front door. What had happened? All my work gone in a flash! If this turned out to be a fucking drill or a bad pipe, I would sue so fucking fast...</p><p>Jamie jerked my arm as I hesitated. "Thea, come on! Forget about it!"</p><p>I let out a desperate sob. Forget about it? Forget about what would have been the best novel I had ever written? Forget about my deadline now looming ominously ahead of me? I heard sirens in the distance. Then I gasped in shock and fear as I saw the smoke curling up from under the door. The fire was in the corridor of the building. Jamie put his hand to the knob then jerked it back.</p><p>"Shit!" he cursed. It was hot. </p><p>Suddenly the gravity of the situation descended on me. The building was on fire and we were trapped. I stared at Jamie, his black hair wet and plastered to his head from the sprinklers. I'm sure I didn't look much better. Probably worse for all my blubbering. He grabbed my arm again and started dragging me back through the living room. I was numb and blindly stumbled after him.</p><p>"Where's your fire escape?" he demanded.</p><p>I just whimpered, shaking from head to foot. I found I couldn't answer. </p><p>"God damn it, Thea!" he said in exasperation. "Snap out of it!"</p><p>He must have spotted it though, because he dragged me over to the balcony just off my living room. Shoving the glass door open, he yanked me through. Half carrying me, half dragging me he slung one leg over the rail and found the first step. He pulled me with him and had to place both my hands on the rung in front of me because I was still in a state of shock. He went down first ahead of me, looking up at me now and then, keeping my legs within the cage of one of his arms in case I lost my nerve. Out here I could see the flames...red and orange, licking the floor above mine. Smoke was already following us out onto the fire escape. I wailed in fear. </p><p>"Thea come on!" Jamie shouted again at my hesitancy.</p><p>I let out a strangled sob, squeezed my eyes shut, and began descending, just after him. I was blind with tears and my heaving sobs sounded embarrassingly infantile, yet I kept pace with Jamie, never letting my hips and upper thighs leave the circle of his protective arms. </p><p>Jamie's voice dropped an octave as if he was trying to calm me down. "Thea, one at a time, come on, move your right hand, now your foot...that's right...slowly...you're fine...it's gonna be fine..."</p><p>I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut again, tears flowing from them like twin faucets. "Fuck my life," I moaned.</p><p>Jamie continued to encourage and soothe me, keeping me on task, and I swore I'd never call him a douche again after this. "Jamie?" I said in a stuttering voice. "You can call me Theodosia if you want."</p><p>I heard his huff of laughter behind me. "Ok, Theodosia. Now pay attention."</p><p>I nodded and swallowed a residual sob. One foot at a time, one hand at time. Slow and steady, Jamie's warmth a comforting presence behind and below me. I tried not think about my missed deadline and ruined apartment. I concentrated on my descent...how much farther to the street? Oh, right, thirty stories. Damn me and my stupid Park Place condo. Flashing red lights illuminated the side of the building and I could hear nothing but sirens and chaos below me.</p><p>Suddenly one of the steps gave way beneath my foot and I slipped with a loud shriek. My back slammed into Jamie's chest and I heard him grunt. I found myself hanging on to the sweat dampened steel for all I was worth, feet dangling precariously in midair. </p><p>"Jamie!" I screamed, feeling my world dropped out beneath me.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. It's Fate, Baby, It's Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I sat bolt upright in bed with a strangled gasp. My hand flew to my throat, surprised to no longer feel the acrid smoke choking my lungs or the hot flames burning down the building above me. I didn't hear the sirens anymore either. A swift movement beside me in the bed brought my brain tumbling back to reality.</p><p>"Thea?" said a drowsy voice, sounding like soft velvet in the dark. "What's wrong, babe?"</p><p>My husband sat up quickly and took me in his arms. I sat stiffly, disoriented and lost for a moment. Then I collapsed gratefully against him, trembling and panting with fear and adrenaline. My tremors shook my whole frame as he wrapped his strong arms around me and held tried to calm me.</p><p>"Thea, baby, are you ok?"</p><p> It had all seemed so real...again.</p><p>"Oh, God, Jamie!" I gasped. "It was awful. Awful! I was so scared...and it seemed so real..."</p><p>I felt his hand stroking my hair. "The same dream?" he asked.</p><p>I nodded against his chest, unable to speak, fisting his white tee shirt in my hands.</p><p>Jamie sighed and gave me a gentle squeeze. He reached over to the nightstand for his watch and looked at the time. It was Saturday, our day to sleep in late and Jamie rubbed his eyes and swore. Then kissing me gently on the forehead, he hugged me to him one more time.</p><p>"Thea, you can't let it rule your life. It's just a dream, babe."</p><p>I took a deep steadying breath. "I know," I murmured, my voice muffled against his shirt. </p><p>I sat up and started to push the blankets off me. Jamie grabbed me by the hand and pulled me back. He kissed me softly and sweetly on the lips. I smiled against his mouth and kissed him back, that familiar thrill that started in my belly and shot down to my toes undimmed after nearly nine years with him. I felt the rumble of deep laughter bubble up in his chest. I tilted my head back to look up at him.</p><p>He drew away and asked with an impish grin, "Um, just out of curiosity, in your dream did we, uh...do that again?"</p><p>I grinned and rolled my eyes. "You mean did you fuck me up against a wall in an alley outside a New York club?" I winked at him. "Absolutely."</p><p>"Did we get caught this time?"</p><p>I giggled. "No...but almost."</p><p>His grin widened and our lips met again. "We should do it for real."</p><p>I laughed softly. "Yeah, I can just see you railing me stupid up against the wall of Ladybird's!"</p><p>Jamie winced at the mention of the cafe where we often ate. "Nah...we'll go uptown and do it. Where no one knows us."</p><p>I grabbed a pillow and hit him over the head with it while he laughed gleefully. </p><p>A playful pillow fight ensued followed by the inevitable fucking. </p><p>Afterwards, we curled lazily against each other, I said, "I never told you this in all these years but..." I paused and Jamie looked at me curiously. "I'm so glad you came after me that night at the club."</p><p>Jamie grinned and kissed the top of my head. "As if I wouldn't have, Theodosia!"</p><p>And what had really happened that night nine years ago in Brooklyn?</p><p>                                                                                           ***</p><p>"Jamie..." I stuttered, my voice wobbling a little.</p><p>He looked like a deer in the headlights. The woman wrapped around him like a graceful vine had no trouble finding her words, however.</p><p>"Oh, hi!" she said with a bright white smile. "You must be Jamie's little muse from...what was it...?" She looked questioningly at Jamie. "Tennessee? Florida?"</p><p>I cleared my throat. "Georgia," I said, my voice sounding rough.</p><p>"That's right! A Georgia peach. How cute." Her eyes swept my dress. "I'm Casey, Jamie's girlfriend."</p><p>My stomach plummeted to the ground. I couldn't look at Jamie or her. I swallowed hard as I felt bile creeping up my throat. I took a step back and then I was dashing for the door, pushing and shoving my way through the dancers and out onto the sidewalk.</p><p>"Thea!" Jamie shouted. "Hey...!"</p><p>I glanced once over my shoulder at Jamie, bulldozing his way through the crowd, using his height to his advantage and chasing me to the door. I finally burst out of the door and was being sick into the curb when I felt his big warm hand on my shoulder.</p><p>I tried to shake it off. "Go away!" I cried. "Go back to your...girlfriend!"</p><p>All the hurt and wounded ego of a spurned, naive nineteen-year-old girl made its way into the vitriol of my tone. I tried to hide behind my hair as Jamie crouched down beside me. But he was right there, stroking it back away from my face.</p><p>"Hey, Theodosia, I'm...I'm sorry."</p><p>"Save it!" I spat, elbowing him away, my eyes on the pavement in front of me.</p><p>"Theodosia, would you just look at me?" he pleaded.</p><p>"No!"</p><p>"Please?" he pleaded.</p><p>I was a mess. I knew my perfect cat-eye liner was ruined, my mascara running, and my once perfectly curled hair a wild stringy mess. Still, I mustered up the dignity to lift my chin and look him in the eye. </p><p>Jamie's hand that had moved my hair to the side now touched my wet, tear-streaked face. I couldn't interpret the look on his face as he stared at my pathetic countenance, but I thought it was almost...tender. His thumb stroked my trembling lower lip while I stared coldly at him with all the wrath and disdain I could muster. Jamie would later call it the withering glance of the goddess. </p><p>When his his eyes locked with mine, he smiled, and  he was almost reverent when he whispered as if to himself,</p><p>"Oh my God...Thea." </p><p>I sniffed. "What?" I asked in hard, suspicious voice.</p><p>"You," Jamie answered simply. </p><p>                                                                                          ***</p><p>We were inseparable after that night. Something in the way I looked or spoke had ensnared Jamie and he was never able to quite articulate it but my only regret was not slapping the sly, condescending Casey across her smirking mouth. For a magical week, I stayed with Jamie in his Brooklyn apartment. I wrote and he worked on his latest project, I cooked and sometimes we went out for dinner, he beat me at Risk, I beat him at chess, we listened to jazz, rock, hip hop, and blues, watched old movies. We drank too and indulged in the occasional recreational drug. I read to him from my latest story, the prototype for the first Embers novel. </p><p>Back then, my stories were not for the public. Just Jamie.</p><p>Even after that lovely surreal week when I went back to Atlanta and applied to Oglethorpe University, he called me every night and came down on the weekends to visit me at the dorm. After my graduation, Jamie relocated with no question about it and took a job with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution doing investigative freelance work and we were married in a simple outdoor ceremony at Piedmont Park. </p><p>We settled beautifully into our small apartment in the young and hip new neighborhood of Old Fourth Ward. It was shortly after our wedding when we were still arranging things in our small but comfortable home that Jamie ran across my writings again. I found him one morning sitting in a kitchen chair, leaning back, balancing on the two rear legs and deeply engrossed in the first Embers novel. </p><p>He looked up with that cheeky grin I never quite knew whether to trust. "You know, babe, you really should find a publisher. Your stuff is too good not to share!"</p><p>"No fucking way," I answered, blushing.</p><p>And I assumed the subject was closed.</p><p>But then the dreams started. Or I should say one dream, over and over. Always the same. And it got to the point where I hated the names Lucas and Serra so much. It wasn't until the dreams became more and more frequent that I broke down and told Jamie. Changing the names of my main characters hadn't made the dream stop. Jamie had a theory it was a sign that I should publish my books. But I disagreed.</p><p>I was content with our simple life, easy life. But that didn't deter my husband. He took it upon himself to find a publisher and when the reply came that Phoenix Books was interested, it was a total shock and surprise to me. Jamie hadn't told me he'd done it and I was furious. At first. But then the first royalty check came and my eyes nearly popped. I had only one stipulation with my newfound editor, Matt Simmons.</p><p>"I want to change their names," I told him. "I want them to be named Jayson and Kiera."</p><p>Changing the names hadn't stopped the dreams, but at least I found it much easier to work with the characters now.</p><p>I had published three novels to date and though they didn't make us the millionaires of my crazy recurring dream, they generated a nice nest egg to put away for the future. Maybe we'd even have a baby Massey sooner rather than later.</p><p>I smiled at that thought as I looked out the kitchen window onto the Beltline, a former railway corridor, that ran right past our house. It was already full of cyclists, runners, and dog walkers against the backdrop of whimsical graffiti on the retaining wall opposite. Jamie and I would often cycle the entire 33 mile loop. I turned to scoop the eggs I had just scrambled onto our plates and sat down at the tiny kitchen table just big enough for two. And maybe a high chair someday, I thought, hugging the idea to myself as I looked up at Jamie.</p><p>He was reading the paper and his frown of concentration deepened. "Holy shit," he swore. </p><p>"What is it?" I asked absently. </p><p>He slowly raised his eyes to mine. "It says here there was a fire in Buckhead last night." He seemed hesitant.</p><p>My heart stopped and my happy smile faded. "Where in Buckhead?" I asked shakily.</p><p>He looked as if he didn't want to answer me. Then he said steadily, "Park Place. The thirty-first and thirtieth floors." He paused. "At least, according to this, nobody was hurt. It seems the residents were all out at the time. The building was pretty badly damaged though..."</p><p>I stared at him, open mouthed. "You...gotta be kidding me," I said softly.</p><p>Jamie folded the paper looking unfazed. "It's just a coincidence, Thea. Nothing else."</p><p>I nodded, picking up my coffee cup with shaky hands. "Of course. It's just...weird. That's all."</p><p>Jamie pushed the paper aside and reached for my hand. "You know, maybe you should talk to Annika about your dream."</p><p>I choked on my coffee. </p><p>"No, I mean it, Thea. You never know..."</p><p>I smiled wryly and stared at Jamie. </p><p>Annika Pavlovsky was our eccentric neighbor who lived three doors down. She was Russian-American and practiced a strange mix of Eastern Orthodox and mysticism. She grew peppers on her roof from which she made hot sauces she sold to local restaurants, occasionally read palms, and had a knack for interpreting dreams. She had been one of the first to welcome us to the neighborhood when were newlyweds. Jamie and I were skeptics of her dubious religious practices but we loved her sauces and humored her whenever we visited. </p><p>I hadn't told Jamie about her part in my crazy dream. It was just too uncanny. I chewed my lower lip thoughtfully. Telling Annika about the dream, omitting certain parts of it of course, couldn't hurt. Maybe I would. </p><p>Jamie rose and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, wrapping his muscular tattooed arm around me tightly. He was wearing his basketball shorts and sleeveless tee and I thought how good it was to see him on something other than the button downs and slacks he wore to work. </p><p>"Another big game with the OFW league?" I asked teasingly.</p><p>Jamie laughed and gave me another kiss, this time on my forehead. He and some of the other guys who lived in the neighborhood blew off steam on the weekends by playing a friendly game of basketball.</p><p>"Hey want me to stop by the Ponce City Market to pick you up some pomegranates and that stinky cheese you like?" he asked on his way out the door.</p><p>He was trying to cheer me up. I smiled adoringly at him. "You know it."</p><p>After he left, I put on a Katie Melua record for inspiration and sat down at my desk with my third cup of coffee to work on the latest Embers novel. I flexed my fingers over the bubblegum pink typewriter Jamie had bought for me at an antique store in Midtown. I grinned, remembering.</p><p>I was deep into a tense scene, Katie singing "Dirty Dice" softly in the background, when my cell phone vibrated. I groaned in frustration. This had better be damn good. I was on roll. I hit answer.</p><p>"Yes?" I asked a bit tersely.</p><p>"Ms. Massey?" said a deep male voice.</p><p>I froze, my heart leaping inexplicably into my throat. The voice affected me strangely. It was like a long, slow stroke down my back, a sip of rich hot chocolate spiked with bourbon the way those three simple syllables sounded in my ear. I felt my face flush with heat and my pulse beat rapidly at my throat. I opened my mouth but nothing would come out.</p><p>He repeated himself. "Ms. Thea Massey? I'm sorry, do I have the wrong number?"</p><p>I cleared my throat a little too gruffly. "Ah...um, no! No, that's me. I'm Thea...Massey."</p><p>"Oh good," the hypnotic voice continued calm and cool; as easy as breathing. "I am an editor for Phoenix Books...Matt Simmons has taken a well-deserved early retirement and I'll be assuming his duties from now on."</p><p>I frowned. "What?" I asked. The affable editor with whom I had developed a rapport over the last fours years was...retired now? This made no sense. "Matt is...gone?"</p><p>"Yes," the velvety voice continued. "Something about a sick grandmother, I think. So it looks like you and I will be partners in this...fascinating journey. You have a quite a talent, Ms. Massey. I've read your stuff. I look forward to getting better acquainted."</p><p>There was a hint of irony and humor in his voice. A chill went down my spine and my belly clenched with a strange mix of repulsion and arousal I did not want to feel. I sank down onto a chair, my legs suddenly weak.</p><p>"And, um...you said you name was...?"</p><p>He laughed softly. "Forgive me. My name is Lucas. Lucas Bain."</p><p>***************************************************************************</p><p>Author's Note: Like most of my stories, this one is a love letter to many people, places, and things. </p><p>First off, my love of all things weird, spooky and twisted. I always wanted to do a Twilight Zone-esque story and this is my attempt at that.</p><p>Second, my hometown, Atlanta, Georgia: I loved giving her and her many charming features a starring role in this. </p><p>Thirdly, to Jamie Massey and Adam's wonderful portrayal of him. I never really believed he was a total douchebag and I will never apologize for loving that stinker. </p><p>Finally to my fellow writers and best gal pals: Jackie (jackieblu13), Rebekah (RubyOrchid), and Sam (mamphy27)</p>
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